Helge Garåsen The Trondheim Model - NSDM

100 % said they were treated with respect and politeness, and 94 % said they got enough
attention from the staff, and that they got assistance when they needed it. 90% of the patients
were also confident of getting medical help when they needed a physician. The patients were
also asked if they got enough help to be well groomed and more than 90 % (37 patients)
answered yes, only one no. However, 51.2 % meant that the information they got at the
general hospital about the community hospital was unsatisfactory. We concluded that the
patients at the community hospital, Søbstad were satisfied with the care they received, and
were particularly contented with the medical care, hygiene and help and support with daily
activities. However, the information given about the community hospital at the general
hospital could have been much better.
4.2.7 Statistical analyses study II
Statistical software programs used were SPSS 14.0 and 15.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA)
and Excel 2003 for Windows. Statistical significance was set at p=0.05.
4.2.7.1 Sample size estimation
The sample size was estimated to detect a difference of 25 per cent in the number of general
hospital readmissions, as an assessment of morbidity, between the groups with alpha 0.05 and
power of 0.80. To achieve this we needed a total of 130 patients, 65 patients in each group
(145).
4.2.7.2 Statistical analyses
4.2.7.2.1. Statistics of the baseline data
The distribution of continuous variables was tested by comparing means and medians and by
normality plots; age, gender, diagnosis, martial status and ADL-scores. Group homogeneity
was analysed with chi square test (X² test).
4.2.7.2.2 Treatment and intention to treat analyses
All comparisons between the intervention and control group were analysed both as intentionto-treat
analyses and as treatment analyses, dependent on where the patient received the care.
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