Perceived quality of care in pregnancy assessment before and after delivery.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the perceived quality of care in a group of pregnant women attended in a public Hospital.


METHODS
All pregnant women seen at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona in 1996. Two study groups were defined: group A, women seen at the outpatient clinic as a regular follow-up visit for pregnancy, and group B, women seen at the outpatient clinic for follow-up after delivery. A satisfaction questionnaire survey was used in a random sample of both groups of women.


RESULTS
Total number of interviews performed was 174. Both groups, A and B were comparable. Scores recorded in both groups were significantly different (P<0.01) for the clinical follow-up and privacy variables (regarded as better than expected). The difference in scores for the information supplied was also statistically significant (P<0.01), but regarded as worst than expected.


CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of satisfaction does not seem to follow a linear, straightforward explanation. The differences seen strongly suggest the need of patient's satisfaction surveys to be specific by dimension and tailored to patients' expectations.
Lledó
R
R
Medical Direction Unit, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain. rlledo@medicina.ub.es
Rodríguez
T
T
Trilla
A
A
Cararach
V
V
Restuccia
J D
JD
Asenjo
M A
MA
Restuccia
J
J
D000328:Adult; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000592:standards; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D009775:Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires