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Background: The aim of the present study was to develop a questionnaire to assess the perception and evaluation of admission to a psychiatric hospital from a patient's perspective (QAE-P). Material and methods: Based on existing literature and a preparatory pilot study, a questionnaire consisting of 126 items was developed, and 708 inpatients based in 6 psychiatry and psychotherapy clinics were asked to answer the items. The resulting data were split into two data sets. In the first subset, exploratory factor analysis was used to help determine the number of scales and provide the basis for item reduction. The resulting questionnaire was validated by means of confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) in the second data subset. Results: The resulting questionnaire comprises 33 items in 7 scales, which assess: (1) helpful, positive relations with staff members; (2) offering of medical explanations to patients and their involvement in treatment planning; (3) evaluation of rooms and clinical environment; (4) dissatisfaction with doctors and staff members; (5) evaluation of handling of ward rules by staff; (6) perception of ward atmosphere; and (7) negative perception of other inpatients. The plausibility of this factorial structure was supported by the results of the CFA. Conclusions: The QAE-P is a short and feasible questionnaire that meets the criteria of classic test theory and assesses different dimensions of the patient's experience of admission to a psychiatric hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]