A qualitative study on elderly patients' preferences for inpatient psychiatric services

Mental illnesses have a high prevalence among elderly patients. It is estimated that half of the elderly do not utilize the psychiatric care that they need. Paying attention to patient preferences can improve treatment adherence and patient outcomes. This study aims to qualitatively identify the preferences of elderly patients hospitalized in the psychiatric wards of hospitals regarding their inpatient psychiatric treatments.

This qualitative study was conducted at Khorshid Hospital in Isfahan, Iran. The study sample included patients in the age range of 60 years or above who had already been hospitalized due to diagnosed psychiatric diseases. Twenty-one semistructured interviews were conducted from March to September 2023. A thematic analysis method was used to analyze the data.

The study extracted three overarching themes, including patients' preferences regarding hospital features, patients' preferences regarding hospital staff, and patients' preferences regarding service delivery.

The findings of this study showed that elderly patients consider different preferences when choosing inpatient psychiatric services. The findings provide new insights for decision-makers and health providers in designing and implementing psychiatric treatments by considering elderly patients' preferences, which in turn might help improve treatment outcomes and increase patient satisfaction.