INTRODUCTION
readmissions, cancer, death, pneumonia
CANCER, HEART FAILURE, PNEUMONIA, SECONDARY
An effective hospital-to-home transition is essential for optimizing post-discharge outcomes in patients.Though quality standards for care transitions exist for healthcare organizations, little attention has focused on the impact socioeconomic disparities may have on the transition from hospital to home. Current evidence on the association between SES and post-discharge outcomes is conflicting, with a few studies demonstrating higher length of stay, risk of ED visits, and of 30-day readmissions among individuals admitted with unique conditions such as pneumonia, heart failure, or cancer, while others demonstrate no association.Current US-based research highlights challenges might relate to costs of filling prescriptions, affording sufficient home care, or adhering to follow-up appointments when they may lack transportation or have work commitments.The primary objective of our mixed-methods study was therefore to evaluate the association between low income and patient experience, adherence to instructions, and composite of ED visits, readmission, and death during the 3 months following discharge in a public-payer health setting of Canada. Our secondary objective was to explore patient and caregiver perspectives on costs in the post-discharge period and the association with health outcomes.