Does the Stress of Hospitalization Lead to Readmission?

Sleep, mobility, nutrition, and mood are fundamental to a patient's hospital experience. Do disturbances in these domains, termed “trauma of hospitalization,” increase a patient's risk for readmission? In this 1-year study of ≈200 adult non-intensive care unit patients who were admitted to a Toronto hospital for at least 48 hours, researchers used a 10-question survey to determine the incidence of patient-reported disturbances during hospitalization.

Nearly all patients (93%) experienced disturbances in at least one assessed domain: mobility (78%), nutrition (55%), sleep (36%), and mood (23%). Thirty percent of patients experienced high trauma of hospitalization (defined as disturbances in 3 or 4 domains). These patients had significantly hi…