Debates over the value and contribution of community hospitals are hampered by a lack of empirical assessment of the experience of patients using these services. This paper presents findings from a study which included a focus on patient and family-carer experiences of community hospitals in England. We adopted a qualitative design involving nine case study hospitals. Data collection included interviews with patients (n = 60), carers (n = 28) and staff (n = 89). Through patients and carers highlighting the value of community hospitals feeling ‘close to home’, providing holistic and personalised care and supporting them through difficult transitions, the study confirms the importance of functional and interpersonal aspects of care, while also highlighting the importance of social and psychological aspects. These included having family, friends and the community close, maintaining social connections during periods of hospital treatment, and feeling less anonymous and anxious when attending the hospital due to the high levels of familiarity and connectedness. Although the experiences uncovered in this study were not uniformly positive, patients and carers placed a high overall value on the care provided by community hospitals, often arguing that these were distinctive when compared to their experiences of using other health and care services. The study suggests the need to weigh the full range of these dimensions of patient experience—functional, interpersonal, social and psychological—when assessing the role and contribution of community hospitals.

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“地方主义和亲密关系，以及……其他类似的不可估量的原因”：对英格兰社区医院患者体验的定性研究

由于缺乏对使用这些服务的患者体验的实证评估，关于社区医院的价值和贡献的争论受到阻碍。本文介绍了一项研究的结果，该研究重点关注英格兰社区医院的患者和家庭护理人员的体验。我们采用了涉及九家案例研究医院的定性设计。数据收集包括采访患者（n  = 60）、护理人员（n  = 28）和工作人员（n  = 89）。通过患者和护理人员强调社区医院感觉“离家近”的价值，提供全面和个性化的护理并支持他们度过艰难的过渡期，该研究证实了功能和人际关系的重要性护理方面，同时也强调社会和心理的重要性方面。其中包括与家人、朋友和社区保持亲密关系，在住院治疗期间保持社交联系，以及由于高度熟悉和联系而在去医院时感到不那么匿名和焦虑。尽管本研究中发现的体验并非都是正面的，但患者和护理人员对社区医院提供的护理总体评价很高，经常争辩说，与他们使用其他医疗和护理服务的经历相比，这些服务与众不同。该研究表明，在评估社区医院的作用和贡献时，需要全面权衡患者体验的这些维度——功能、人际关系、社会和心理。