ArticleBMC nursing2025
Effectiveness of nurse-led transitional care interventions for adult patients discharged from acute care hospitals: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in BMC nursing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of Nurse-Led Case Management in Community Settings Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of older people nursing · 2026Pooled it
- Nurse-led caregiver training interventions in post-stroke rehabilitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of functional and psychosocial outcomes.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Experiences of frail Korean older adults and their families in a transitional care program: an exploratory qualitative study.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- Adaptation Model for Patient and Caregiver Dyads in Hospital-to-Home Transition: Theory Development and Content Validation.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Nurse led titration of guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure: an operative flow chart.ESC heart failure · 2026Article
- Development and Temporal Validation of a Discharge-Based Administrative Data Risk Model for 30-Day Unplanned Readmission After Endometrial Cancer Staging Surgery.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Perspectives of Healthcare Professionals, Patients and Family Members on Managing Regular Medications Across the Perioperative Pathway: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Article
- Article
- Transitional Care Support for Patients with Heart Failure: A Qualitative Study of Nursing Practices by Ward, Discharge Planning, and Visiting Nurses.The Kobe journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Impact of Combined Interventions and Early Home Care Activation on 30-Day Hospital Readmissions: A Retrospective Observational Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Observational
- Effect of continuity of care on medication adherence and psychological outcomes in patients with coronary heart disease: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Bridging the Gap in Chronic Disease Management: A Nursing Perspective on the Use of Predictive Tools and Telemedicine in the Hospital-Community Transition.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Review
- The role of a transitional care program in supporting family caregivers to prevent relapse in severe mental illness: a qualitative study from Iran.BMC nursing · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWith the guidance of healthcare policy and advances in medical technology, the average length of stay in hospitals continues to decrease. In this context, expectations for nurse-led interventions for patients discharged home are increasing. However, few systematic reviews of nurse-led transitional care have focused on patients discharged from acute care hospitals. This systematic review aimed to assess the effects of nurse-led transitional care interventions on readmission rates, unscheduled outpatient-visit rates, and quality of life (QOL) of adult patients discharged from acute care hospitals, compared with usual care.
methodsFour electronic databases were searched for articles published through October 2023. Individual and cluster randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the effectiveness of nurse-led transitional care interventions were included. Independent reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and certainty of evidence using the GRADE approach.
resultsSixteen RCTs were included. In a meta-analysis of RCTs with readmission rates as the outcome, readmission rates were significantly reduced in the intervention group when the data collection period exceeded 12 weeks (RR 0.67; 95% CI, 0.49-0.92; P = 0.01; I² = 66%; certainty: moderate). The rate of emergency room visits was also significantly reduced in the intervention group (RR 0.63; 95% CI, 0.49-0.81; P = 0.0003; I² = 0%; certainty: high). QOL measured with the SF-36 was significantly higher after 5 weeks (MD 1.27; 95% CI, 0.52-2.02; P = 0.0009, I² = 0%; certainty: low) and after 6 weeks (MD 2.46; 95% CI, 1.67-3.25; P = 0.00001; I² = 19%; certainty: low), both showing a possibility of improvement in the intervention group. However, the number of studies and samples included in the meta-analysis, particularly for readmission rates and QOL, were small, and the results should be interpreted with caution due to differences in subjects, institutions, and types of interventions.
conclusionNurse-led transitional care interventions effectively reduced readmission and emergency department visit rates and improved QOL in adult patients discharged from acute care hospitals.
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