Satisfaction of Patients With First Medical Care: Cross-Section Study (On the Example of City Kyiv)

Abstract

After reorganization of ambulatory-polyclinic net of medical institutions in city Kyiv in 2013 and creation of centers of first medical care (FMC), the necessity in monitoring of patients’ satisfaction with received first medical care appeared. Aim. To estimate satisfaction of patients of FMC Centers of city Kyiv with received first medical care, to compare it with patients’ satisfaction in rural area of Ukraine and in European Union countries. Materials and methods. The cross-section study was realized in FMC centers of city Kyiv during 6 months of 2017 year. In total 397 persons, 18 years old and more, who addressed to doctors of the first link during no less than one year, were selected for the study. The used EUROPEP instrument, the questionnaire, consists of 23 questions with their possible assessment by Likert five-point scale and includes the following aspects: doctor-patient-relationship, assessment of direct medical care, information and support of a patient by a doctor, organization aspects of care, its accessibility. The internal succession of the questionnaire Cronbach's alpha was estimated, and its reliability was checked. Main indices of research results were mean EUROPEP indices (minimum 1, maximum 5). Results. The study has established, that satisfaction of Ukrainian patients with FMC (index - 75,5 %) is statistically reliably lower than indices of European Union countries. In average, only 37,16 % of respondents estimated the level of received FMC as “perfect” and correspondingly 38,35 % of patients as “good”. There were revealed problems with an access to medical care, namely: “Time of waiting for a consultation near a cabinet” received the least mark (3,29 and 45,59 % respectively), “Possibility of registration for consultation by phone” is also low (3,47 and 59,95 % respectively). Problems in communications, the low level of trust and doctor’s authority were revealed in the decreased index “Doctor’s help in fighting against negative emotions, connected with your health status” (3,72 and 56,17 % respectively). There was studied, that in Ukraine satisfaction of patients, who live in rural area, is statistically reliably lower than Kyiv indices. Conclusion. The study of satisfaction of patients with received FMC revealed imperfection of the existing system of first medical care. The research results may be used at elaborating new functional-organizational model of activity of first medical care, including patients’ satisfaction as an important component in the integrative dimension of the medical help quality.