Barriers and facilitators to provide continuity of care to dischargeable patients in disasters: A qualitative study.

Objective: Early discharge of some in-patients is the effective measure to create hospital surge capacity in disasters. However, some of these patients may need to post-discharge continuity of care. The aim of the current study then is to explore the barriers of continuity of care, and to provide suitable solutions for potentially dischargeable patients during disasters.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in Iran in 2017. The data was collected via unstructured interviews with 24 disaster professionals; and analyzed by content analysis method.

Results: Identified barriers to the continuity of care were classified into seven categories, 'lack of disaster paradigm'; 'challenges of pre-hospital system'; 'insufficient coordination and cooperation'; 'inadequate hospital preparedness'; 'lack of using available resources and capacities'; 'poor patients' knowledge' and 'poor planning'. The suggested solutions for post-discharge continuity of care were: creation of registry and follow-up system; removing pre-hospital challenges; including disaster management courses in medical school curriculum; promoting hospital preparedness by All-Hazard Approach; and effective use of available resources.

Conclusion: Understanding the barriers to continuity of care for discharged patients for adopting policies based on experiences of health care providers can help planners to design and implement effective programs, which will enhance patients' access to necessary care.