Patient Experiences With Hospitalization Due to Diabetes in Alberta, Canada: A Cohort Study Using Survey and Administrative Data.

Objectives: Individuals living with diabetes are often hospitalized. Despite this, little is known about their experiences with hospital care. In this study we examined the comprehensive experiences of patients hospitalized due to diabetes in Alberta, Canada, and compared them with those of patients hospitalized for other chronic conditions.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study that linked survey data with inpatient records. Survey data were collected using the Canadian Patient Experiences Survey-Inpatient Care (CPES-IC) instrument. Results from 37 questions were classified as percent in "top box," which reflects the most positive answer choice. We also examined the association between overall experience and demographic and clinical factors among those living with diabetes.

Results: Over a 7-year period, 12,593 surveys (2,288 with diabetes and 10,305 other chronic conditions) were obtained. Patients hospitalized due to diabetes had lower "top-box" scores on 24 questions, higher scores on 3 questions, and the remaining 10 questions showed no difference between groups. Those hospitalized due to diabetes indicated potential areas for improvement. These included receiving information about their condition and about the admission process, the nighttime quietness of their hospital room, being informed about possible side effects of new medications, and pain control. Overall experience was also shown to vary according to demographic and clinical factors.

Conclusions: We found that individuals hospitalized due to diabetes reported lower experience scores than those hospitalized due to other chronic conditions. Our findings may be used to develop strategies to improve the patient experience among this cohort.