https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2089-2056
Abstract
Purpose
Being ready for discharge is vital to successful hospital-to-home transitions. However, despite a wealth of evidence on its effectiveness, little is known about readiness for hospital discharge (RHD) in adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and its influencing factors. In this study, we investigated the patient-reported RHD and its influencing factors among Chinese adult patients with MDD.
Patients and Methods
In this cross-sectional design study, 230 adult patients with MDD were recruited according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 6 were excluded due to incomplete questionnaires, finally 224 patients were included in our study. Data were collected from March to September 2019 in a tertiary general hospital in Hunan Province (China). The general information, RHD, quality of discharge teaching and level of depression were assessed by using questionnaires. Univariate analysis and ordinal logistic regression analysis were performed to explore the influencing factors of RHD.
Results
The RHD score was 7.37 ± 1.40, and 36.2% of participants were not ready for discharge. The score of quality of discharge teaching scale (QDTS) was 6.36 ± 1.89, the dimension of delivery scored highest, followed by content-needed and content-received. The proportions of patients with no, mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression were 12.5%, 27.7%, 25.0%, 25.4% and 9.4%, respectively. The following factors were associated with RHD: the level of depression (OR=0.66), the content-received dimension of QDTS (OR=1.16), education level (OR=1.24), work status (OR=1.76) and length of hospitalization (OR=0.53).
Conclusion
The RHD among participants was at a moderate level. It is strongly suggested to take the assessment of RHD as a routine process. High education level, employment and the content-received dimension of QDTS were protective factors of participants’ RHD, and long-term hospitalization, the high level of depression were its risk factors.
Ethics Statements
This is a minimal risk study, and we applied for an exemption from written informed consent, which was later approved by the Institutional Review Board of Xiangya School of Nursing at Central South University in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Before data collection, we provided patients with an information sheet. After reading it, patients orally expressed their willingness to participate or not. For those who agreed, we gave a questionnaire and thanked those who disagreed. For those who agreed, we gave a questionnaire to them, for those who disagreed, we thanked them for their time. Participants were also informed that they could withdraw from the study at any time. Anonymity and confidentiality were maintained throughout the study. All practices involved in the study were approved by the Institutional Review Board (Letter Number: 2019032).
Acknowledgments
We are appreciative of all patients in the study. The authors also thank the whole staff of the psychiatric department of the tertiary hospital.
Disclosure
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in this work.