Medical inpatient experiences and perceptions of discharge education provided by health care professionals: a qualitative systematic review protocol

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to synthesize the experiences and perceptions of adult medical inpatients regarding discharge education provided by health care professionals during their hospital stay, when patients are discharged from hospital to home. INTRODUCTION: Discharge education is an essential part of patient care, helping individuals prepare to manage their health once they leave the hospital. Many patients face significant challenges in adjusting to life outside the hospital following discharge, and these challenges can provide valuable insights into their needs in terms of the discharge process. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: This review will consider qualitative studies exploring the perceptions and experiences of adult medical inpatients who received discharge education from health care professionals and were discharged from hospital to home. Studies published in English and Portuguese, regardless of publication date or geographic origin, will be eligible. METHODS: This review will follow the JBI methodology for systematic reviews of qualitative evidence. A comprehensive literature search will be conducted across the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Scopus, Embase (Ovid), Emcare (Ovid), LILACS (BVS), and ERIC (EBSCOhost). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global will be searched for gray literature. Two reviewers will independently screen and appraise studies and then extract data. For data synthesis, a meta-aggregative approach will be used. The ConQual approach will be employed for assessing the confidence in the evidence. The results of the search and the study inclusion process will be reported in full in the final systematic review and presented in a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram. REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD420250641761.