Rural Patients' Perceptions of Their Potentially Preventable Hospitalisation: A Qualitative Study

Andrew Ridge; Gregory M Peterson; Bastian M Seidel; Vinah Anderson; Rosie Nash

doi:10.1177/23743735211069825

Rural Patients' Perceptions of Their Potentially Preventable Hospitalisation: A Qualitative Study

J Patient Exp. 2022 Jan 4:9:23743735211069825. doi: 10.1177/23743735211069825. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Andrew Ridge^{1

2}, Gregory M Peterson¹, Bastian M Seidel^{2

3}, Vinah Anderson⁴, Rosie Nash³

Affiliations

¹ School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
² Huon Valley Health Centre, Huonville, Tasmania, Australia.
³ School of Medicine, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
⁴ School of Health Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

Abstract

Potentially preventable hospitalisations (PPHs) occur when patients receive hospital care for a condition that could have been more appropriately managed in the primary healthcare setting. It is anticipated that the causes of PPHs in rural populations may differ from those in urban populations; however, this is understudied. Semi-structured interviews with 10 rural Australian patients enabled them to describe their recent PPH experience. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify the common factors that may have led to their PPH. The analysis revealed that most participants had challenges associated with their health and its optimal self-management. Self-referral to hospital with the belief that this was the only treatment option available was also common. Most participants had limited social networks to call on in times of need or ill health. Finally, difficulty in accessing primary healthcare, especially urgently or after-hours, was described as a frequent cause of PPH. These qualitative accounts revealed that patients describe nonclinical risk factors as contributing to their recent PPH and reinforces that the views of patients should be included when designing interventions to reduce PPHs.

Keywords: access to care; health literacy; healthcare planning or policy; patient expectations; patient perspectives/narratives; preventable hospitalization; qualitative methods; rural.