title: Obese older adults report high satisfaction and positive experiences with care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obese, older adults often have multiple chronic conditions resulting in multiple health care encounters. However, their satisfaction and experiences with care are not well understood. The objective of this study was to examine the independent impact of obesity on patient satisfaction and experiences with care in adults 65 years of age and older with Medigap insurance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Surveys were mailed to 53,286 randomly chosen adults with an AARP® Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan insured by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company (for New York residents, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York) in 10 states. Following adjustment for non-response bias, multivariate regression modeling was used to adjust for demographic, socioeconomic and health status differences to estimate the independent impact of weight on satisfaction and experiences with care. Outcome variables included four global and four composite measures of satisfaction and experiences with care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  21.4% of the respondents were obese. Relative to normal weight, obesity was significantly associated with higher patient satisfaction and better experiences with care in seven of the eight ratings measured.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obese individuals were more satisfied and had better experiences with care. Obese individuals had more office visits and discussions about nutrition, exercise and medical checks. This may have led to increased attentiveness to care, explaining the increase in satisfaction and better experiences with care. Given the high level of satisfaction and experiences with care in older, obese adults, opportunities exist for clinicians to address weight concerns in this population.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Analytics, Optum, 315 E, Eisenhower Parkway, Suite 305, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA. Frank.Bottone@optum.com.
authors.forename: Frank G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Bottone
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Musich
authors.forename: Shaohung S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Cynthia E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Hommer
authors.forename: Charlotte S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hawkins
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D017054:Insurance, Medigap; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012044:Regression Analysis