Determinants of Health in Discharge Planning for Seniors: Asking the Right Questions

Practitioners are encouraged to consider a shift in their philosophy regarding the manner in which interdisciplinary health care teams ask questions of seniors and their caregivers in the hospital discharge process. By engaging with a discharge framework that encompasses a social-determinants-of-health lens, discharge planning teams can begin to systematically ask questions that move beyond the traditional medical focus on prescriptions, rehabilitation, and treatments. This approach may reveal strengths and also expose health and social inequities that seniors might face upon their arrival home. This information may open a gateway for connecting seniors to social and economic resources that will support them in remaining productive and healthy.