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. 2019 Mar 20;14(3):e0212900.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212900. eCollection 2019.

Medical patients' affective well-being after emergency department admission: The role of personal and social resources and health-related variables

Lukas Faessler  1 , Jeannette Brodbeck  1 , Philipp Schuetz  2 , Sebastian Haubitz  2 , Beat Mueller  2 , Pasqualina Perrig-Chiello  1
Affiliations

Medical patients' affective well-being after emergency department admission: The role of personal and social resources and health-related variables

Lukas Faessler et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Medical emergency admissions are critical life events associated with considerable stress. However, research on patients' affective well-being after emergency department (ED) admission is scarce. This study investigated the course of affective well-being of medical patients following an ED admission and examined the role of personal and social resources and health-related variables.

Methods: In this longitudinal survey with a sample of 229 patients with lower respiratory tract infections and cardiac diseases (taken between October 2013 and December 2014), positive and negative affect was measured at ED admission (T1) and at follow-up after 7 days (T2), and 30 days (T3). The role of personal and social resources (emotional stability, trait resilience, affect state, and social support) as well as health-related variables (self-rated health, multimorbidity, and psychological comorbidity) in patients' affective well-being was examined by controlling for demographic characteristics using regression analyses.

Results: The strength of the inverse correlation between positive and negative affect decreased over time. In addition to health-related variables, higher negative affect was predicted by higher psychological comorbidity over time (T1-T3). In turn, lower positive affect was predicted by lower self-rated health (T1-T2) and higher multimorbidity (T3). In terms of personal and social resources, lower negative affect was predicted by higher emotional stability (T2), whereas higher positive affect was predicted by stronger social support (T1-T2).

Conclusion: Knowledge about psychosocial determinants-personal and social resources and health-related variables-of patients' affective well-being following ED admission is essential for designing more effective routine screening and treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow chart of patient selection across the three time points: ED admission (T1), 7 days after (T2), and 30 days (T3).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Course of negative and positive affect across the three time points (ED admission, (T1), 7 days (T2) and 30 days after (T3)).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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