Publication: Emergency department patients comprehension difficulty of their diagnosis and care upon discharge and description of factors contributing to their knowledge deficit
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Date
2021
Authors
Sivan, Kasturi
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Abstract
Introduction : Emergency Department (ED) patients must be aware of their diagnosis, treatment options, and implications of their diagnosis and its outcome in order to engage effectively in treatment options. Objectives: To identify the proportion of discharged ED patients who have comprehension difficulty of their diagnosis and treatment received and to describe the factors contributing to patient comprehension difficulty. Methodology : A cross-sectional survey of 332 discharged green zone patients of ED Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia chosen by simple random sampling was conducted from May to December 2020. A newly developed questionnaire adapted from previously established study at Chicago was content and face validated and translated. Pilot study involving 50 patients was done. Cronbach alpha value of 0.9 was obtained. Patients rated their subjective understanding on degree of agreement of 3 domains: diagnosis, ED care (tests and treatment) and factors contributing to comprehension deficit. Descriptive statistics was used to summarise sociodemographic characteristics, proportion of perceived comprehension difficulty of diagnosis and ED care. Statistical significance for association between variables were calculated using Pearson Chi-square test. Results: More than 80% patients had good comprehension of their diagnosis and ED care. All the factors described except long waiting time were statistically significant for patient comprehension. Noisy environment and lack of privacy was statistically significant as contributing to poor comprehension of ED care. Conclusion: There is great improvement on patient comprehension of their diagnosis and treatment over the years. A conducive environment in addition to effective communication is vital further improvement of patient understanding of diagnosis and treatment received.
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Keywords
Emergency Department , diagnosis