[Patient satisfaction after hospitalisation in a psychiatric institution]

There are few studies on the relation between clinical variables and patient satisfaction, and the results are not consistent.

87 in-patients at a psychiatric unit filled in a questionnaire for personality pathology, PDQ-4+, on admission, and the symptom measures MADRS-S and SCL-5 on admission and discharge in 2003-2004. They were also interviewed about patient satisfaction before discharge.

The mean scores for patient satisfaction were high, and patients experienced a substantial decrease in symptoms during their stay. There were statistically significant positive correlations between reductions in MADRS-S and SCL-5 and patient satisfaction. The correlations were strongest for MADRS-S (r = 0.59, p < 0.01). There were negative correlations between patient satisfaction and personality pathology. Altered depression status explained 43% of the variance in patient satisfaction. The PDQ-4+ total score explained an additional 4% of the variance, while length of stay, age and sex contributed minimally.

Patient satisfaction was significantly affected by symptom reduction and to some extent by personality pathology, while duration of the hospital stay and sociodemographic factors had limited influence.