A qualitative study of patient experiences of decentralized acute healthcare services

Figures & data

Table 1. Descriptive of study participants (n = 27).

Gender	Female n = 16	Male n = 11
Age (mean-years)	70, 44	71, 91
Age (median–years)	69, 5	75
Age (range-years)	53–90	50–85
Length of stay (mean-days)	3, 38	3, 82
Length of stay (range-days)	1–7	1–6

Table 2. Interview guide. Examples of questions.

Quality	Safety	Comparison to hospital	Finishing questions
Can you please tell me a bit about your stay [at the MAW]? (Follow-up: What was important to you during your stay?)	Can you please tell me about your perception of safety/lack of safety during your stay [at the MAW]? (Follow-up: Did you trust the doctorś professional competence?)	Have you received treatment in hospital before? If yes: how would you compare your previous experiences with the treatment you received [at the MAW]?	Overall, what did you find most positive about your stay?
How would you describe the treatment you received[at the MAW]?	How did you feel the personnel treated you if you asked any questions? (Follow-up: Did you have questions? How did the personnel act if you were anxious or worried about something? Can you please describe a concrete situation in which you had this experience?)	Do you think your experience would have been different if you had been admitted to the hospital? If yes: In what way?	What did you find most negative about your stay?
How did you experience the communication with the staff? (Follow-up: Can you please describe a concrete situation in which you had this experience? Did you feel that they were interested in your situation? Did you participate in decision-making regarding your treatment and care? Were there differences between different personnel?)	If you compare hospital and [the MAW], what are the similarities and differences regarding patient treatment?		Is there anything I haven’t asked you about, that you would like to add?

Table 3. Themes, subthemes, and representative quotes related to theme I (“Almost a hospital, but…”).

Theme	Subthemes	Representative quotes
Almost a hospital, but…	Treatment and competence	But it was a hospital! To me it was! I got all the help I had expected. They started examining me at once, took blood samples, blood pressure, and the whole package! (Rebecca, 80) …and then I got to stay there, where there were doctors and nurses available. Got an IV cannula in my hand. (Mona, 53) …then they started giving me intravenous medications instead of oral- so I understood that they had the knowledge. (Sarah, 66) It was very hard to come home. To find out that I actually hadn’t received any treatment, only analgesics (.) (Thomas, 51)
	Location and physical environment	It is obvious that it has a lot to say. It is, after all, straight up the street. (Harry, 66) It is much closer. Otherwise you have to travel all the way [to hospital] in order to visit. Family and relatives nearby, you see. It is easier for them. (Harry, 66) I appreciate more coming to the MAW, because you always meet someone you know, and it’s easy for relatives to come visit. (Kate, 71) Yes, we call it a mini-hospital. (Judy, 74) I felt more like I was (.) well (.) not in an ordinary hospital, because I was kind of more free (Stacey, 61)
	Adequate time for care	It seemed like they had the time to take care of you, to sit down and talk. What really helped me was the doctor who took his time, explaining things to me, and had the time to listen to what I asked. (Andrew, 50) Yes, it is much bigger in the hospital! More patients and (.), they do not have that much time for each patient there [hospital] as in the MAW. I realize that (.). And perhaps more people are in need of help (.), many more in need of food and… (Sarah, 66)

Participant pseudonym and age- in years, in parenthesis. A list of collated codes is available upon request.