Continuum: A Postdischarge Supportive Care Intervention for Hospitalized Patients With Advanced Cancer

Context: Patients with advanced cancer are at increased risk for multiple hospitalizations and often have considerable needs postdischarge. Interventions to address patients' needs after transitioning home are lacking.

Objectives: We sought to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of a postdischarge intervention for this population.

Methods: We conducted a single-arm pilot trial (n = 54) of a postdischarge intervention, consisting of a video visit with an oncology nurse practitioner (NP) within three days of discharge to address symptoms, medications, hospitalization-related issues, and care coordination. We enrolled English-speaking adults with advanced breast, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, or thoracic cancers experiencing an unplanned hospitalization and preparing for discharge home. The intervention was deemed feasible if ≥70% of approached patients enrolled and ≥70% of enrolled patients completed the intervention within three days of discharge. Two weeks after discharge, patients rated the ease and usefulness of the video technology on a 0-10 scale (higher scores indicate greater ease of use). NPs completed postintervention surveys to assess protocol adherence.

Results: We enrolled 54 of 75 approached patients (77.3%). Of enrolled patients (median age = 65.0 years), 83.3% participated in the intervention within three days of discharge. The median ease of participating in the intervention was 9.0 (IQR: 6.0-10.0) and the median usefulness of the intervention was 7.0 (IQR: 4.5-8.0). The majority of visits focused on symptom management (85.7%), followed by posthospital medical issues (69.0%).

Conclusion: An oncology NP-delivered intervention immediately after hospital discharge is a feasible and acceptable approach to providing postdischarge care for hospitalized patients with advanced cancer.