title: The relationship between hospital patients' ratings of quality of care and communication.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the relationship between hospital patients' quality of care ratings and their experiences with health-related information exchanges and communication during hospitalization.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional multivariate dimensional analysis of data from a quality of care experience questionnaire of hospital patients comparing scores across three levels of reported satisfaction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five thousand nine hundred and fifty-two patients from a Swiss University Hospital responded to the questionnaire at discharge during 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey questions measuring patients' evaluation of quality of care, patient loyalty and overall satisfaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Different levels of reported satisfaction are associated with differing experiences of health-related information and communication during a hospital stay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients who report lower satisfaction appear to attribute to the hospital staff enduring negative dispositions from behaviours that may be due to specific situational contexts. Negative experiences appear to influence scores on most other communication and information domains. Patients who report higher satisfaction, in contrast, appear to differentiate negative experiences and positive experiences and they appear to relativize and compartmentalize negative experiences associated with their hospital stay.
authors.affiliation: University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 6, 3000 Bern, Switzerland. anita.keller@psy.unibe.ch.
authors.forename: Anita C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Manfred Max
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Bergman
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Heinzmann
authors.forename: Atanas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Todorov
authors.forename: Heidemarie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heberer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: hospital care; measurement of quality; patient satisfaction; setting of care