Determinants of length of stay and associated outcomes in patients attending emergency department of Gatundu level V Hospital, Kiambu, Kenya

Background: The study aimed to determine the duration of stay and associated outcomes of patients attending the emergency department at Gatundu Level V Hospital, Kiambu, Kenya, and compare these findings to the internationally recognized benchmark of four hours for emergency department visits. Methods: Longitudinal research was used with 182 participants selected through a systematic random sampling technique. Data was collected using pretested structured questionnaires. The Pearson-Chi square method was utilized for proportionate patient features. The data was analyzed and cleaned using the SPSS version 27. Results: This showed that the average length of stay was 2 hours and 27 minutes, with the longest stay being 18 hours (15.4%), representing 28 out of 182 patients who spent more than 4 hours in the emergency department. The rest of the patients (84.6%) stayed less than 4 hours, with a majority (48.4%- 88 patients) being inpatient, 13.2% (24) under 24-hour observation, 29.1% (53) were discharged, 8.1% (16) were referred to tertiary institutions, and 0.5% (1) died. 72.6% were satisfied with their care while 27.4% were dissatisfied with their quality of care. Conclusions: The Pearson correlation revealed a significant relationship between the length of stay and illness acuity indicating that patients with more severe conditions tend to remain in the department longer than those who are more stable. The length of stay was significantly related to the patient’s outcome (p=0.368) and showed a strong correlation with illness type (p=0.002) and patient type (p=0.002).