Psychosocial Resources and Situational Aspects Related With Emergency Patients’ Emotional Distress and Self-rated Health

Abstract

Background: We studied to what degree psychosocial resources, demographic variables and situational aspects are related with patients’ emotional distress and self-rated health at emergency department (ED). Methods: This is an observational cohort study including 101 medical ED patients (M = 68.7 years, males 67.07%) from a Swiss tertiary care hospital. Emotional distress was assessed using a short form of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Self-rated health was measured with a visual analogue scale. Further variables assessed with standardized questionnaires were personality (BFI-10), resilience (RS-11) and self-efficacy (ASKU). Findings: Results from regression analysis showed that emotional distress was significantly correlated with patients’ knowledge of diagnosis (rs = .21, p <. 05) and neuroticism (rs = .27, p < .05). In turn, conscientiousness (rs = .29, p = .01), resilience (rs = .29, p < .05), age (rs = -.22, p < .05) and gender (rs = .31, p < .01) were related with self-rated health. Discussion: Results are discussed referring to a resource-oriented model of distress-management, and in view of designing prevention and intervention strategies.