[Inpatient satisfaction and dissatisfaction in relation to socio-demographics and utilization characteristics]

This paper reports a study exploring factors related to patient satisfaction and dissatisfaction with inpatient care.

A cross-sectional study design was used, employing data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted in 2001. Socio-demographic factors, utilization, self-rated health status, and disease characteristics were assessed by employing univariate comparisons and multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Out of 37,769 respondents, 1,043 aged 20 years and over had been admitted to a hospital or clinic at least once during the past year. About a quarter of the respondents were discharged from tertiary hospitals and 21% from clinics. The majority of patients (58%) were satisfied with inpatient care received, whereas 11% were dissatisfied. Greater satisfaction was found in patients aged 45-64 years and those having formal education, discharge from tertiary hospitals, national health insurance as a payer, medical expenses not being burdensome, good self-rated health status, and neoplasm. Living in non-metropolitan urban areas, shorter length of stay, and musculoskeletal diseases were associated with greater dissatisfaction.

Different factors were related to patient satisfaction and dissatisfaction with care. Those factors need to be taken into account when evaluating and comparing satisfaction levels between health care institutions.