Loneliness among hospitalized patients in Jimma medical center, Southwest Ethiopia, 2021.

Abstract

BackgroundLoneliness is an unpleasant indication that an individual’s social relation are deficient in some important way. It is an influencing factor for poor health outcomes and connected to morbidity and mortality in the general population. The admission into a hospital leads to a dramatic change in the social environment. It is where physical and social isolation could create loneliness where there previously was none, or increase an individual’s pre-existing level of loneliness. Hence, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of loneliness and associated factors among hospitalized patients in Jimma medical center, Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia. MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted on 404 respondents from April 16th to June 29th, 2020. Data were collected by exit face-to-face interview using a revised University of California and Los Angeles Loneliness Scale consisting of 20-items which is an interviewer administered and pre-tested questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 23. Statistical significance of associated variables had been declared based on the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with its 95 % CI and p-value < 0.05. ResultA total of 397 patients participated in the study which is yielding a response rate of 98.3 %. More than half 54.6 % (95 % CI: 49.9–56.2) of the participants’ experienced loneliness during their stay in the hospital. The risk of loneliness was lower among participants who were married (AOR = 0.272, 95 %CI:0.093–0.796) and had no comorbid diseases (AOR = 0.479, 95 %CI:0.233–0.983), short duration of disease after a diagnosis (AOR = 0.456, 95 % CI: 0.234–0.886), no impaired mobility (AOR = 0.467, 95 %CI:0.252–0.863), and no emergency care visits (AOR = 0.418, 95 %CI:0.197–0.885). On the other hand, participants who had a poor trusted relationship with health care providers (AOR = 9.679, 95 %CI: 5.443–17.210) and poor social support (AOR = 4.697, 95 %CI: 2.281–9.673) had a higher risk of loneliness. ConclusionsThis study highlights that the prevalence of loneliness was high among hospitalized patients. Being married, good relationship trust toward health care providers and strong social support were variables that decreased the feeling of loneliness. While having comorbid disease, duration of disease after diagnosis, impaired mobility and emergency care visit, increased the experience of loneliness. Thus, hospitalized patients identified with loneliness should be linked to a psychiatric clinic for further evaluation and screening to prevent the complication of loneliness developing into psychiatric disorders.