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Valuing Outpatients' Perspective on Primary Health Care Services in Greece: A Cross-Sectional Survey on Satisfaction
Dimitris Charalambos Karaferis1, Dimitris A Niakas1, Dimitra Balaska2
1Department of Health Economics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
Introduction:
The aims of the study were to identify and analyze the determinants associated with outpatient satisfaction in Greek primary care. This is because there is a general consensus that primary care is the linchpin of effective person-centered care delivery.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 1012 patients' exit interviews; sociodemographic variables were included in the questionnaire to obtain data on the satisfaction of primary care users with 20 public primary healthcare centers in Athens between June 2019 and April 2021. Statistical analysis was applied to 55 items and eight dimensions of patient satisfaction, namely, arrival and admission, waiting before the appointment, cleanliness of toilets, medical examination and behavior of physician, behavior of nursing staff, laboratories, departure, and contribution of the PHCs. Descriptive analyses and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the factors influencing patient satisfaction through coefficients (β) with 95% confidence intervals and associated tests of statistical significance.
Results:
Τwo-thirds (74.21%) of this survey's participants ranged from 45 to 74 years of age. More than half of the participants were women (62.15%). The most common reasons for visits were pathological (26.48%), followed by cardiological conditions (9.78%), orthopedics (9.49%), gynecologic conditions (8.70%), and ophthalmologic problems (7.31%). In the center of satisfaction with primary care was the medical care and the behavior of the physician (β = 0.427; p < 0.01), followed by the time during appointment (β = 0.390; p < 0.01). Dimensions like "accessibility and availability, 2.19/5"; "waiting times, 2.89/5"; "infrastructure of facilities (2.04/5) and cleanliness of them, (2/5)"; "laboratories, 2.99/5" and "bureaucracy in the departure, 2.29/5" were crucial for the trust and satisfaction of patients. Overall satisfaction was rated at a moderate level (2.62 ± 0.18) while person-centered care was rated as weak (2.49 ± 0.28).
Conclusions:
Greece is recommended to increase the sensitivity of the use of the primary health care system by patients as a first contact, continuous, comprehensive, and effective patient- and family-focused care.
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