Predictors and clinical implications of emotional distress on the day of discharge in hospitalized patients

Abstract

Objective

Emotional distress significantly affects the quality of life and mental health of hospitalized patients after discharge. This study aimed to identify key predictors of emotional distress on discharge day to inform clinical interventions.

Methods

A descriptive correlational design was employed, retrospectively analyzing the medical records of 73,814 inpatients from a medical center in southern Taiwan over two years and four months, encompassing 471,339 person-days of emotional distress assessments.

Results

The prevalence of emotional distress on discharge day was 73.1 %. Emotional distress on discharge day was positively correlated with age, hospital stay length, pain levels, and emotional distress on admission and during hospitalization. Women reported significantly higher emotional distress levels than men. Internal medicine patients exhibited significantly higher emotional distress levels compared to surgical and gynecological patients, while gynecological patients reported higher levels than surgical patients. Multivariate regression analysis identified seven significant predictors of emotional distress on the day of discharge: emotional distress on the day of admission (B = 0.470), internal medicine vs. surgery (B = 0.260), pain levels on the day of discharge (B = 0.110), age (B = 0.002), gynecology vs. surgery (B = 0.125), male vs. female gender (B = −0.038), and emotional distress during hospitalization (B = 0.012), all of which were statistically significant (p < .001).

Conclusion

Addressing emotional distress during hospitalization is essential to mitigating its persistence at discharge. Interventions should prioritize effective pain management, gender-sensitive care, and disease-specific strategies to enhance post-discharge quality of life and reduce the risk of readmission.