Quality of care transitions from hospital to home for COVID-19 patients discharged from Brazilian university hospitals

Purpose To analyze the quality of transitional care for patients with COVID-19 at discharge from Brazilian university hospitals. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in five Brazilian university hospitals between April and December 2021. The sample consisted of 527 participants. Data collection consisted of a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Care Transitions Measure (CTM-15), a care transition assessment instrument, which was translated and validated in Portuguese. Findings Most participants were patients ( n = 369; 70.0%), with primary school completion ( n = 218; 43.4%), multiracial ( n = 218; 43.5%) and with an income of up to two minimum wages ( n = 182; 42.8%). Dimension 1 – management preparation – obtained the highest score (71.2 points, SD = 16.5), while Dimension 4 – care plan – obtained the lowest score (62.2 points, SD = 23.4). Among the participating hospitals, there was a difference in the overall mean with results ranging from 67.0 to 72.9 points. Originality/value A satisfactory quality of care transition was found, considering the context of a pandemic. The main weaknesses in the care transitions were related to the care planning after hospital discharge.