[The satisfaction of the primary care consumer: a comparison between distinct models of care]

The results of a questionnaire about satisfaction in the users of an urban health area of the city of Alicante, where the traditional model of primary care (the clinic, C), the new model (the health center, HC) and private practice (P) coexist are reported. The questionnaires were administered by staff unrelated with the health center. In general, satisfaction was significantly greater (p = 0.001) in users of HC and P than in C users. no significant difference was found between HC and P. The specific satisfaction was also greater (p less than 0.05) for all services in HC than in C: General practice (GP), nursing care (N), pediatrics (PED), and administration-information (ADMON). The general satisfaction did not correlate with sociodemographic variables; it was weakly correlated with the service use variables, and was clearly correlated (p less than 0.001) with the specific satisfaction with the use of services such as GP (r = 0.57), PED (r = 0.49), ADMON (r = 0.56), and N (r = 0.58).