Predictors of patient satisfaction in surgery.
BACKGROUND
We sought to evaluate the satisfaction of surgical patients in order to identify predictors of patient satisfaction, using a cross-sectional surgery patients' survey in 24 public hospitals in Spain and a total of 15,539 inpatients and 7,899 outpatients.


RESULTS
Seventy-seven percent of inpatients and 88.3% of outpatients were satisfied (chi(2) = 509.31; P < .0001). Case-mix and hospital size were associated with satisfaction in inpatients (chi(2) = 19.31; P = .013). Older inpatients tended to be more satisfied (chi(2) = 80.54; P = .001), whereas; younger outpatients showed higher satisfaction levels (chi(2) = 51.73; P = .004). The most influential factors on inpatient satisfaction were information at admission (odds ratio [OR], 4.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.91-5.63), knowing what type of professional one was dealing with at any given time (OR, 4.01; 95% CI, 3.01-5.34), and informed consent (OR, 3.37; 95% CI, 2.41-4.71). For outpatients, the most influential factors were informed consent (OR, 7.62; 95% CI, 3.68-15.80) and information about home care after discharge (OR, 7.010; 95% CI, 3.06-15.96).


CONCLUSIONS
We should consider the importance of patient information before and after treatment in the design of clinical pathways to offer better and more comprehensive care to surgical patients.
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Spain. jose.mira@umh.es
José Joaquín
JJ
Mira
Olga
O
Tomás
María
M
Virtudes-Pérez
Cristina
C
Nebot
Jesús
J
Rodríguez-Marín
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006276:Health Facility Size; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012737:Sex Factors; D013030:Spain; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative; D016896:Treatment Outcome