ABSTRACT
In 2035, half of the Western population will be 65 and over with rising life expectancy and expanding chronic illness. Hospital readmissions of geriatric patients result in psychological trauma. As a response to future needs, paths that build resilience in elders are essential as resilience in chronic illness may lead elders to psychological and physical well-being, enabling their bouncing back to life. While communication is linked to better health outcomes, little is known about communication in the context of resilience following discharge from the hospital. This chapter explores the link between communication of acute-care clinicians and resilience of geriatric patients following discharge. Participants were six geriatric patients who were readmitted several times in the past year. Twelve thematic interviews were conducted, one upon discharge and the other a month thereafter. Data were analyzed by Aronson’s thematic analysis method. Communication that enhanced health literacy, perceived control, and reflection while participants were in acute care contributed to their higher comprehensibility and manageability during the hospitalization and to their meaningfulness post-discharge, establishing resilience. Participants who experienced other forms of communication demonstrated anxiety and helplessness with lingering psychological trauma post-discharge.
