Degree of patients’ life satisfaction when hospitalised in treatment and behavioural wards

Introduction: Satisfaction with life is often identified with a sense of life quality adopted in the category of one of its elements.

Aim of the study: To assess satisfaction with patients’ life, depending on the place of hospitalisation.

Material and methods: The study included 300 patients from surgical wards (group I) and behavioural wards (group II) and used a questionnaire containing the Satisfaction with Life Scale.

Results: Both groups reported the highest percentage of patients (group I – 47.7%, II – 48%) who obtained 21 to 25 points and were rather satisfied with their lives. In group I, the highest percentage of both, people living in rural areas (43.0%) and in the city (37%), were more satisfied with their lives, just as in group II (village – 55%, city – 37%). Interpreting the results of studies on the scale of life satisfaction in relation to education, gender and marital status, people were rather satisfied with their lives. In group I, the highest satisfaction with life was presented by patients aged 70 and above, and in the second group – aged between 31 and 50. The highest level of life satisfaction was manifested by the patients with a low social status (75% in group I and 100% in group II).

Conclusions: The largest proportion of patients were quite satisfied with their lives, however it was more noticeable in behavioural rather than surgical wards. Patients from surgical wards who were more satisfied with their lives were mostly males aged 70 and over, lived in rural areas, had vocational education and were separated from their spouses. Patients from behavioural wards who were rather satisfied with their lives were females aged 31-40 and 41-50, lived in rural areas, had higher education and were single. In both wards, the decrease in respondents’ financial situation was followed by the decline in their satisfaction with life.