BACKGROUND: General political and legal changes in the German health care system will increase the importance of patient surveys. Patient satisfaction with medical and organizational care during their stay in a hospital is a relevant outcome of quality assurance. Satisfied patients also show a higher compliance with treatment and therefore increase the probability of a successful outcome. The objective of this analysis was to identify determinants of satisfaction with hospital stay of severely injured patients. METHODS: A written questionnaire was sent to 121 severely injured patients, who were predominantly hurt by traffic or work-related accidents and were treated between 1996 and 2001 in two hospitals in Cologne (response rate=74.4%, n=90). The questionnaire used in this study contained questions about psychosocial care of physicians and nurses in and organizational and structural characteristics of the hospital. RESULTS: Logistic regressions identified two significant predictors for satisfaction with hospital stay: (1) subjective evaluation of psychosocial quality of care by physicians and (2) patients' perception of active integration in treatment decisions. CONCLUSION: The results of this analysis confirm the importance of soft science in medical education also for surgeons. Medical education should integrate knowledge about psychosocial aspects of medicine. The quality of psychosocial care of physicians seems to be a predictor of patient satisfaction. The probability of dissatisfaction increases with deficits in communication, information, and time as well as no active integration in treatment. The results of this analysis confirm the vital importance of psychosocial aspects in physician-patient interactions with severely injured patients for satisfaction with stay in hospital.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: General political and legal changes in the German health care system will increase the importance of patient surveys. Patient satisfaction with medical and organizational care during their stay in a hospital is a relevant outcome of quality assurance. Satisfied patients also show a higher compliance with treatment and therefore increase the probability of a successful outcome. The objective of this analysis was to identify determinants of satisfaction with hospital stay of severely injured patients. METHODS: A written questionnaire was sent to 121 severely injured patients, who were predominantly hurt by traffic or work-related accidents and were treated between 1996 and 2001 in two hospitals in Cologne (response rate=74.4%, n=90). The questionnaire used in this study contained questions about psychosocial care of physicians and nurses in and organizational and structural characteristics of the hospital. RESULTS: Logistic regressions identified two significant predictors for satisfaction with hospital stay: (1) subjective evaluation of psychosocial quality of care by physicians and (2) patients' perception of active integration in treatment decisions. CONCLUSION: The results of this analysis confirm the importance of soft science in medical education also for surgeons. Medical education should integrate knowledge about psychosocial aspects of medicine. The quality of psychosocial care of physicians seems to be a predictor of patient satisfaction. The probability of dissatisfaction increases with deficits in communication, information, and time as well as no active integration in treatment. The results of this analysis confirm the vital importance of psychosocial aspects in physician-patient interactions with severely injured patients for satisfaction with stay in hospital.