An investigation was undertaken regarding the relationships between privacy and patient outcomes, within the framework of this model linking privacy modes and situational contingencies. The hypothesis states that an increase in the discrepancy between a patient's level of privacy and his preferences for privacy following relocation to another institution will be reflected in higher mortality rates. Conversely little or no discrepancy between a patient's level of privacy and his preference for privacy will be reflected in stable or lower mortality rates. Relocation can affect either one or both of these measures and hence affect mortality.