Factors Behind Dialysis Patient Satisfaction: Exploring Their Effects on Overall Satisfaction

Different Perspectives of Spanish Patients and Professionals on How a Dialysis Unit Should Be Designed

Aim

The opinion of hemodialysis patients, professionals and family members is rarely considered in the design of a hemodialysis unit.

Purpose

To know and compare the opinion and preferences of patients, family members and professionals regarding the design of a dialysis unit and the potential activities they believe should be carried out during the session in order to provide architects with real information for the construction of a dialysis center.

Patients and Methods

Anonymous and voluntary survey in electronic format addressed to patients, relatives and professionals belonging to the 18 hemodialysis centers of the renal foundation and to ALCER and its different delegations, in relation to leisure activities to be carried out in the dialysis center and preferred design of the treatment room. The results obtained between the patient-family group and the professionals were compared.

Results

We received 331 responses, of which 215 were from patients and family members (65%) and 116 (35%) from professionals. The most represented category among professionals was nursing (53%), followed by assistants (24%) and physicians (12.9%). A higher proportion of patients (66%) preferred rooms in groups of 10-12 patients as opposed to professionals who preferred open-plan rooms (p<0.001). The options that showed the most differences between patients and professionals were chatting with colleagues and intimacy (options most voted by patients/families), versus performing group activities and visibility (professionals).

Conclusion

The professionals' view of patients' needs does not always coincide with the patients' perception. The inclusion of the perspective of people with kidney disease continues to be a pending issue in which we must improve both patient organizations and professionals, and the opinion of professionals and patients must be included in the design of a dialysis unit and the activities to be developed in it.

Identifying Patient Satisfaction Determinants in Hemodialysis Settings: A Systematic Review

Purpose

Patient satisfaction is a measure of care quality that assists providers in determining the effectiveness of their services while meeting patients’ expectations. This study aimed to review existing studies that have focused on patients’ satisfaction determinants in Hemodialysis (HD) settings.

Methods

Electronic databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar) were searched from 2000 onwards to identify studies using search terms related to patient satisfaction and hemodialysis centers. Article review was limited to studies written in English. A total of 19 articles were included by following the PRISMA statement. Data were extracted using a structured form and summarized in a tabular format to identify different determinants that showed a relationship with patient satisfaction. Determinants were classified into provider-related determinants and patient-related characteristics.

Results

Provider-related determinants of patient satisfaction in HD centers include staff, facility, service, and treatment. Patient-related characteristics associated with satisfaction include demographics and health status history. Based on this systematic review, key correlates of patient satisfaction in hemodialysis centers include: staff, facility, service, treatment, patient’s demographics, and health status.

Conclusion

The findings of this study can help healthcare facilities in taking measures in line with the specified determinants to enhance patient satisfaction and improve the organizational performance of the healthcare centers. It is important to constantly study and improve these determinants based on patient feedback to improve patient satisfaction and quality of care.

Factors associated with patient satisfaction in an outpatient hospital pharmacy

Objective

To analyse the factors leading to greater satisfaction among patients attending the outpatient hospital pharmacy (OPh).

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted of patients attending the OPh of a 1250-bed university hospital. A self-administered questionnaire for measuring outpatients' satisfaction was developed. Global satisfaction was measured on a scale of 1 to 10. Indices of perceived quality for accessibility, interpersonal professional-patient relationship and the convenience of the process were modelled through a principal component analysis using varimax rotation. The relationship between the principal components and overall satisfaction was evaluated using regression analysis.

Results

A questionnaire-based survey was conducted between May and June 2015. A total of 509 valid responses (86.9% response rate) were collected from the OPh. The overall satisfaction score was 7.81 (95% CI 7.59 to 8.04). The principal component analysis produced two components that explained 62.1% of the variance. The first component (CP1) contained questions related to the adequacy of the resources and services. The second component (CP2) contained questions about interpersonal professional-patient relationship. An additional unit in the CP2 was associated with a 3.23 increased risk of having higher satisfaction scores, while an increase of an additional unit in CP1 was associated with a 1.93 increased risk of having higher satisfaction scores.

Conclusions

Our study shows that the factor which predicts the satisfaction of patients who come to the OPh is the quality of care provided by pharmacists-in particular, information provided, resolution of doubts, personal attention and time devoted to the patient.