title: [Relatives' satisfaction with the care of elderly patients in skilled nursing wards].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Skilled Nursing Wards (SNW) in Israel are purposely equipped and staffed for treatment of patients that, in addition to functional dependence, suffer from active diseases which require close medical supervision. Patients' surveys on satisfaction with health care are increasingly accepted as an element of quality assessment. However, given the high rate of communication disorders present in these patients, this method is not feasible for use in SNWs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We initiated a survey of patients' relatives--based on a questionnaire specifically designed to reflect their satisfaction with the level of care provided.
  
  
  METHODS
  Respondents were asked to rank their level of satisfaction with medical, nursing and structural aspects of the care in the SNW on a 1-5 Likert Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Relatives of 147 SNW residents answered the questionnaire. The overall level of satisfaction was high, all components being ranked at 4.2 or above. Four point fifty-five was the average rating given to the medical component of the care, 4.39 to the nursing aspect and 4.32 to the structural section. Five points were awarded to the medical component by 60% of the participants, to the nursing element by 55% of respondents and to the structural section by 40% of respondents. No differences were observed between the rankings of frequent and less frequent visitors. All respondents were highly cooperative and expressed their appreciation of the initiative to perform a satisfaction survey.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results show that the families of the skilled nursing patients that participated in this study are satisfied with the health care provided to their relatives. Such surveys contribute to the quality of care and should be considered for routine/periodical use in long-term care settings.
authors.affiliation: Shmuel Harofeh Hospital, Geriatric Medical Center, Be'er Ya'akov, Israel.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lubart
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leibovitz
authors.forename: Refael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.forename: Yehuda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Baumoehl
authors.forename: Adi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shapira
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gurewitz
authors.forename: Beni
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Habot
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005190:Family; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D012866:Skilled Nursing Facilities / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires