Stability of patient perception of quality of hospital care over time

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to determine patient attitudes towards the quality of Hospital care, and to assess whether those attitudes remained stable over time. Theoretical constructs to measure patient satisfaction with hospital care were tested. From among the family of models available, the multiattribute utility model (MAU) was chosen. This approach employs a structured list of attributes to which patients respond by indicating relative importance (weight) and utility of each attribute. Patients diagnosed with myocardial infarction were selected from nine hospitals. Through self-administered questionnaires, using tradition Likert-type scales, data were collected from 164 patients at two points in time: one month, and five months following discharge. Analyses were conducted to determine how stable satisfaction was over time. Results from univariate and multivariate analysis showed that, at least for myocardial infarction, patient satisfaction with care is not necessarily stable over time. Studies of patient attitudes towards quality of care depend upon the time following discharge that those attitudes are measured.