[Sociodemographic characteristics and geographic variability associated with patient satisfaction in Primary Care]

Patient satisfaction with health services plays an important role in programs to improve the quality of care from the point of view of users. The objectives of this study were: To identify sociodemographic characteristics associated with patient satisfaction in the care provided by family doctors in Primary Health Care (PHC) centres, and describe the geographical variability of this phenomenon in the Spanish National Health Service.

The data come from the European Health Survey (2009). Prevalence ratios (crude and adjusted) of the characteristics associated with both excellent satisfaction and dissatisfaction using Poisson regression, and their geographical variability are discussed.

About one in every 3 users of the PHC believes that the care provided was excellent, while 6.7% were dissatisfied. There is a wide variability in the perception of satisfaction among the various regional health services, with prevalence ranging between 10.9% and 55.2%. Moreover, this assessment is closely related to age, level of self-perceived health, mental health, previous hospitalisation, chronic disease status, and limitations in daily activities.

Satisfaction with the care provided by the PHC physician is relatively high. However, the distribution between regions and socio-demographic characteristics and health status of the user is heterogeneous.