Advances in Aging Research, 2014, 3, 257-264 Published Online July 2014 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/aar http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/aar.2014.33035 How to cite this paper: Proietti, M.G., Compagnone, T. and Liotta, G. (2014) Addressing Healthcare Needs in Older People after Discharge. Advances in Aging Research, 3, 257-264. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/aar.2014.33035 Addressing Healthcare Needs in Older People after Discharge Maria Grazia Proietti 1 , Teresa Compagnone 2 , Giuseppe Liotta 3* 1 Community Cooperative Nuova Sair, Rome, Italy 2 University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy 3 Biomedicine and Prevention Department, University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy Email: * giuseppe.liotta@uniroma2.it Received 10 May 2014; revised 22 June 2014; accepted 27 July 2014 Copyright © 2014 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract Healthcare needs should be addressed even when patients return home. The purpose of this study was to support a multidimensional assessment upon discharge to plan domiciliary care. Materials and Methods: This is a multicentre cross-sectional study that uses the Geriatric Functional Assess- ment questionnaire to assess healthcare needs. The questionnaire was administered upon dis- charge to 358 people aged over 65. Results: About 20% of our sample required healthcare support after discharge and 32% needed some sort of supervision. Most of the healthcare requirements involved socio-economic needs, neurological diseases, and inability to autonomously perform in- strumental activities of daily living. Discussion: It is crucial to have an optimal discharge plan for older inpatients. Nurses play a key role in managing the care continuum process, and they have the instruments to select those requiring “supported discharge”, and collaborate with district nurses who can arrange healthcare interventions jointly with other professionals. They can facili- tate access to resources, medical devices and aids required to restore patient autonomy. Keywords Multidimensional Evaluation, Elderly, Hospital Discharge 1. Introduction Ageing of the population has become a priority for healthcare services worldwide, especially in industrialised countries, and Italy in particular is one the countries with the highest ageing rate, where more than 20% of its entire population is aged over 65 [1]. The healthcare relevance of ageing lies in the fact that, in addition to the physiological ageing of individuals, an increased incidence of co-morbidity relates to older people’s demand of care. * Corresponding author