Premium
Patients' opinions and experiences regarding the hospital bed and the bedside equipment: an interview study
Author(s) -
Petzäll Kerstin,
Berglund Barbro,
Lundberg Christer
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-6712.2001.1510106.x
Subject(s) - medicine , university hospital , throat , family medicine , physical therapy , medical emergency , emergency medicine , surgery
As it is important for patients' recovery that hospital beds are comfortabke and adapted to patients' needs, 60 adult patients were interviewd during their stay in hospital about the experiences and opinions regarding the hospitals beds, bedside equipment and the general milieu in the ward. The patients were recruited from one ear, nose and throat, one general surgery and one internal medicine ward respectively, at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Göteborg. A standardized questionnaire containing both open and closed questions concerning bed function and bed comfort was designed and used. The study revealed substantial and serious dissatisfaction among the patients regarding the comfort of beds, bedside equipment and the physical milieu in the wards. Younger patients were more critical than elderly patients. The patients had many relevant suggestions on how to improve the conditions in the wards with respect to the needs they themselves had experienced as patients.