Abstract:
Background: New knowledge about the process leading to crises among community-dwelling frail patients, such as acute hospital admissions, may contribute to improved understanding, prevention, and new approaches to future crises. The aim of this study was to explore the development of crises among frail patients as documented in the patient records by home care services and general practitioners.

Methods: This study comprised a qualitative process analysis of documents from electronic patient records systems retrieved from home care services and general practitioners in ten municipalities in Norway for 20 patients.

Findings: The analysis showed that the structure of the examined patient records influences the ability to disclose the processes leading to crises. Events within the crisis process were often described without addressing the underlying reasons for their occurrence. Furthermore, the development of a crisis was found to follow individual and complex pathways for each patient.

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