The experience of being admitted to a psychiatric clinic: part 2: comparative analyses of patient and hospital characteristics

The purpose of this study was to investigate associations of patient's scores in the newly constructed questionnaire on patients' psychiatric admission experiences (QAE-P) and individual, institutional, and situational factors. Data of 708 patients and 6 participating hospitals were analyzed. Patient characteristics between clinics were compared and univariate as well as multivariate analyses were applied to examine associations of QAE-P total score and individual as well as institutional variables (t tests, univariate and multivariate analyses of variance, correlation analyses, and effect sizes of significant associations). There was little variance of patient characteristics between hospitals. Multiple univariate associations with small to medium effect sizes were found between total QAE-P scores and demographic and clinical variables of the patients, institutional variables, and (non-independent) situational views of the patients. After multivariate analyses were applied, these associations remained significant for gender, age, diagnosis, the personal decision to be admitted, and for previous planning of admission with the outpatient doctor. The hospital variables shown to be associated with total QAE-P scores were open versus closed ward, disorder-specific organization of the ward, and the number of other patients being treated under the German Mental Health Act. Principally the QAE-P seems to be a suitable instrument of quality management. A number of factors were identified that show associations with the subjective evaluation of admission as reported by the patients. Some of these variables are within the control of the clinical management.