Abstract

This paper focuses on the central role of senior nurse leaders in advancing organizational resources and support for communication between healthcare providers and carers that influences patient and carer outcomes during the transition from hospital to the community. A Think Tank (Lobchuk 2012) funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) gathered interdisciplinary and intersectoral stakeholders from local, national and international levels to develop a Family Carer Communication Research Collaboration. Workshop stakeholders addressed critical challenges in meeting communication needs of carers as partners with clinicians in promoting safe care for the elderly, chronically or seriously ill or disabled individuals in the community. Key priority areas identified the need to uncover nurse leader perspectives at the system, nurse leader, healthcare provider and patient levels where communication with carers occurs. The overarching outcome from the workshop focuses on the need for nurse leaders to advocate for patients and their families in meeting carer communication needs. The authors' "call to action" requires commitment and investment from nurse leaders in the critical juncture of healthcare delivery to strengthen communication between healthcare providers and carers that influence patient and carer outcomes in seamless transitions of care.