title: Correlates of satisfaction for the relationship with their physician in type 2 diabetic patients.
abstract: In the context of an Italian nation-wide outcomes research program on type 2 diabetes, we investigated the contribution of both patient and setting-related factors to patient satisfaction with their relationship with their physicians. The level of patient satisfaction was measured using the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) 14 patient satisfaction questionnaire. The main results were obtained using multilevel analysis, a statistical technique that takes into account the clustered nature of our data. Overall, 3563 patients were recruited by 101 diabetologists and 103 general practitioners (GPs). Information on patients' satisfaction was available for 2515 patients (71% of the whole sample). Patients' satisfaction was related to patient characteristics and attitudes, but not with physician's sex, age, speciality, and setting of care. In particular, patients who were less likely to delegate to physicians responsibility for diabetes management and those perceiving a lower degree of involvement in disease management showed lower levels of satisfaction. Lower satisfaction scores were also related to lower levels of school education, more severe clinical conditions, and lower psychological adaptation to diabetes. However, patients reporting higher levels of diabetes related worries and more frequent encounters with health care providers showed higher levels of satisfaction. In conclusion, patient satisfaction with physicians' humanness and communication skills is strongly related to personal characteristics, attitudes, expectations, and perceived health. In deciding the best decision-making approach to adopt in individual patients, it is of primary importance to measure how the patient perceives and engages in relationships.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Epidemiology, Consorzio Mario Negri Sud, Via Nazionale, S. Maria Imbaro, CH 66030, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Franciosi
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pellegrini
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Berardis
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Belfiglio
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Di Nardo
authors.forename: Sheldon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Greenfield
authors.forename: Sherrie H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sacco
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tognoni
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valentini
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nicolucci
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires