Patient experiences of rehabilitation in rheumatology: association with process and outcome

To evaluate health-care experiences of patients following inpatient rheumatology rehabilitation and to assess the association between these experiences and aspects of health-care delivery and patient characteristics.

Data were collected from 435 patients with a rehabilitation stay of >or= 1 week at 12 institutions in Norway in 2006. At discharge, patients completed the Rehabilitation Patient Experiences Questionnaire (Re-PEQ), which includes four important aspects of patient experiences. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess associations between Re-PEQ scores, health-care process, health and sociodemographic variables.

A total of 412 (94.7%) patients completed the Re-PEQ; scores ranged from 69 (social environment) to 83 (care/organization) on the 0-100 scale, where 100 represents the best possible experience. The social environment scale had the largest component of variation explained by the independent variables, which included number of doctor visits, amount of group education, and individual exercise (p < 0.01). The type of institution, number of doctor visits, mental health, and gender also explained significant components of variation in the other Re-PEQ scale scores.

Patients reported good experiences with rheumatology rehabilitation. Areas where poorer experiences emerged can help target areas for future initiatives aimed at improving the quality of care. Health and sociodemographic variables should be controlled for in studies of patient experiences.