Patient Reports of Night Noise in Hospitals Are Associated With Unplanned Readmissions Among Older Adults

Objective: Sleep disturbance is a key contributor to posthospital syndrome; a transient period of vulnerability following discharge from hospital. We sought to examine the relationship between patient-reported hospital quietness at night, via a validated survey, and unplanned hospital readmissions among hospitalized seniors (ages 65 and older) in Alberta, Canada. Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of survey responses, linked with administrative inpatient records. Setting: Using the Canadian Patient Experiences Survey—Inpatient Care and Discharge Abstract Database, patients aged 65 and older, and living with one or more chronic conditions were identified. Participants: Of all, 25 674 respondents discharged from hospital between April 2014 and December 2017. Main Outcome Measure: All-cause, unplanned readmission within 30 or 90 days (yes vs no). Results: Approximately half (50.5%) of the respondents reported that the area around their room was always quiet at night. Eight (8.1%) percent of respondents (2066) were readmitted within 30 days (2241 total readmissions), while 15.6% (4000) were readmitted within 90 days (5070 total readmissions). When controlling for a variety of demographic and clinical factors, patients not reporting “always” to the survey question regarding hospital quietness at night had slightly greater odds of readmission within 30 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-1.45) and 90 days (aOR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.06-1.23). Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a clear association between patient-reported hospital quietness at night and subsequent readmission within the first 30 and 90 days following discharge. Efforts to minimize hospital noise, particularly at night, may help promote a restful environment, while reducing readmissions among older patients living with chronic conditions.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.