Abstract
The study examined the relative contribution of caregivers’ conduct and physical conditions of the hospital setting to patients’ global satisfaction with health care, while controlling for self-assessed health status. The study was performed in the Soroka Medical Center, which is the only inpatient facility for a population of 360,000 in southern Israel. Patients were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Inclusion criteria were patients over 17 years of age, fluency in Hebrew, and hospitalization in the internal medicine wards for 24 hours or more. The dependent variable was “global satisfaction.” The independent variables were “satisfaction with caregivers’ conduct,” “satisfaction with physical surroundings and conditions,” and “self-assessment of health.” The three independent variables accounted for 36.8% of the variation in patients’ satisfaction with care, of which 87% related to “satisfaction with caregivers’ conduct.” In conclusion, hospital patients value the caregivers’ conduct more than the physical environment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Donabedian A. The definition of quality: some empirical studies. In: The Criteria and Standards of Quality. Ann Arbor, Mich: Health Administration Press, 1982;1:35–48.
Pilpel D. Evaluation of Primary Health Services of the General Sick Fund: Perspectives of Providers and Insured. Beer-Sheva, Israel: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press; 1984. Thesis.
Tessler R, Mechanic D. Consumer satisfaction with prepaid group practice: a comparative study. J Health Soc Behav. 1975;16:95–113.
Leiberman E, Pilpel D, Carel CA, Levi E, Zadic Z. Coping and satisfaction with growth hormone treatment among short stature children. Horm Res. 1993;40:128–35.
Snow RE. Aptitude-treatment interaction as a framework on individual differences in psychotherapy. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1991;59(2):205–16.
Blanchard CG, Labrecque MS, Ruckdeschel JC, Blanchard EB. Physician behaviors, patient perception and patient characteristics as predictors of satisfaction of hospitalized adult cancer patients. Cancer. 1990;65(1):186–92.
Calnan M. Managing minor disorders: pathways to hospital accidents and emergency departments. Soc Health Illness. 1983;5:149.
Hickson GB, Clayton EW, Entman SS, et al. Obstetricians’ prior malpractice experience and patients’ satisfaction with care. JAMA. 1994;272:1583–7.
Parker SC, Kroboth FJ. Practical problems of conducting patient satisfaction surveys. J Gen Intern Med. 1991;6:430–5.
Williams SJ, Calnan M. Convergence and divergence: assessing criteria of consumer satisfaction across general practice, dental and hospital care settings. Soc Sci Med. 1991;33:707–16.
Carmel S. Satisfaction with hospitalization: a comparative analysis of three types of services. Soc Sci Med. 1985;21:1243–9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
From the Department of Epidemiology and Evaluation of Health Services, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Soroka Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel The author is a Senior Lecturer of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pilpel, D. Hospitalized patients’ satisfaction with caregivers’ conduct and physical surroundings. J Gen Intern Med 11, 312–314 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02598274
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02598274