What weights on the user experience of hospital inpatient episodes? A Portuguese national study

Abstract

Background Information about the users' experience is an essential element in patient-centered healthcare. We determined the score of the different elements of inpatient experiences of admission episodes in hospitals of the Portuguese health system and examined their contribution to the overall experience score. Methods A national cross-sectional study using randomized telephone interviews was conducted in the general population for the last episode of individuals who had an episode of hospitalization care between November 2016 and October 2017. Descriptive analysis of sociodemographic characteristics, care episode, hospital, elements of experience (16 dimensions), and global opinion was performed. The elements of experience were compared with the global experience through Spearman's correlation, with the contribution of each element to the global opinion calculated through weighted least squares regression. Results We obtained a total of 308 responses, 60.7% were female and the average age was 53.1 years, the average length of stay was 8.06 days; 35.1% were in medical departments; 56.5% were elective; 43.8% hospitals were in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and 88.3% were from the public health service. All elements of experience and the overall opinion presented median values between 3 and (the maximum) 4. The correlation of each element with the global opinion is positive and statistically significant, having a contribution to the global opinion which varies between 11.5% and 51.6%, independently of demographic, episode of care or hospital characteristics. The domains of emotional support, empathy and respect; and communication, information and personal interaction make the greatest contribution to global opinion. Conclusions Elements of experience do not have the same weight on the global evaluation of inpatient individuals, which seem to privilege relational and interpersonal aspects of care. These findings have implications for patient-centered healthcare. Key messages Most users are satisfied with their hospitalization episodes of the Portuguese health system. The elements that contribute the most to the experience have to do with the healthcare workforce and their interaction with the users.