title: Patient Admission Preferences and Perceptions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Understanding patient perceptions and preferences of hospital care is important to improve patients' hospitalization experiences and satisfaction. The objective of this study was to investigate patient preferences and perceptions of hospital care, specifically differences between intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital floor admissions.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional survey of emergency department (ED) patients who were presented with a hypothetical scenario of a patient with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). We surveyed their preferences and perceptions of hospital care related to this scenario. A closed-ended questionnaire provided quantitative data on patient preferences and perceptions of hospital care and an open-ended questionnaire evaluated factors that may not have been captured with the closed-ended questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 302 study patients, the ability for family and friends to visit (83%), nurse availability (80%), and physician availability (79%) were the factors most commonly rated "very important," while the cost of hospitalization (62%) and length of hospitalization (59%) were the factors least commonly rated "very important." When asked to choose between the ICU and the floor if they were the patient in the scenario, 33 patients (10.9%) choose the ICU, 133 chose the floor (44.0%), and 136 (45.0%) had no preference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on a hypothetical scenario of mild TBI, the majority of patients preferred admission to the floor or had no preference compared to admission to the ICU. Humanistic factors such as the availability of doctors and nurses and the ability to interact with family appear to have a greater priority than systematic factors of hospitalization, such as length and cost of hospitalization or length of time in the ED waiting for an in-patient bed.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sacramento, California.
authors.forename: Clayton
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Center for Health Care Policy and Research, Sacramento, California.
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Melnikow
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sacramento, California.
authors.forename: Tu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dinh
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sacramento, California.
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sacramento, California.
authors.forename: Samuel D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Gaona
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sacramento, California.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bottyan
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Center for Health Care Policy and Research, Sacramento, California.
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Paterniti
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sacramento, California.
authors.forename: Daniel K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Nishijima
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000628:therapy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000592:standards; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014789:Visitors to Patients