Tsai Chun-Yen, Wang Mu-Chia, Liao Wei-Tsen, Lu Jui-Heng, Sun Pi-Hung, Lin Blossom Yen-Ju, Breen Gerald-Mark
Institute of Health Service Administration, China Medical University, Taiwan.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2007 Dec 5;7:198. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-7-198.
This study examines hospital outpatient perceptions of the physical environment of the outpatient waiting areas in one medical center. The relationship of patient characteristics and their perceptions and needs for the outpatient waiting areas are also examined.
The examined medical center consists of five main buildings which house seventeen primary waiting areas for the outpatient clinics of nine medical specialties: 1) Internal Medicine; 2) Surgery; 3) Ophthalmology; 4) Obstetrics-Gynecology and Pediatrics; 5) Chinese Medicine; 6) Otolaryngology; 7) Orthopedics; 8) Family Medicine; and 9) Dermatology. A 15-item structured questionnaire was developed to rate patient satisfaction covering the four dimensions of the physical environments of the outpatient waiting areas: 1) visual environment; 2) hearing environment; 3) body contact environment; and 4) cleanliness. The survey was conducted between November 28, 2005 and December 8, 2005. A total of 680 outpatients responded. Descriptive, univariate, and multiple regression analyses were applied in this study.
All of the 15 items were ranked as relatively high with a range from 3.362 to 4.010, with a neutral score of 3. Using a principal component analysis' summated scores of four constructed dimensions of patient satisfaction with the physical environments (i.e. visual environment, hearing environment, body contact environment, and cleanliness), multiple regression analyses revealed that patient satisfaction with the physical environment of outpatient waiting areas was associated with gender, age, visiting frequency, and visiting time.
Patients' socio-demographics and context backgrounds demonstrated to have effects on their satisfaction with the physical environment of outpatient waiting areas. In addition to noticing the overall rankings for less satisfactory items, what should receive further attention is the consideration of the patients' personal characteristics when redesigning more comfortable and customized physical environments of waiting areas.
本研究调查了一家医疗中心门诊患者对门诊候诊区物理环境的看法。同时也研究了患者特征与其对门诊候诊区的看法及需求之间的关系。
该医疗中心由五座主要建筑组成，设有17个主要候诊区，用于九个医学专科的门诊：1）内科；2）外科；3）眼科；4）妇产科与儿科；5）中医；6）耳鼻喉科；7）骨科；8）家庭医学科；9）皮肤科。编制了一份包含15个条目的结构化问卷，用于评估患者对门诊候诊区物理环境四个维度的满意度：1）视觉环境；2）听觉环境；3）身体接触环境；4）清洁度。调查于2005年11月28日至2005年12月8日进行。共有680名门诊患者做出回应。本研究采用了描述性、单变量和多元回归分析。
所有15个条目得分相对较高，范围为3.362至4.010，中性评分为3分。通过对患者对物理环境满意度的四个构建维度（即视觉环境、听觉环境、身体接触环境和清洁度）进行主成分分析得出的总分，多元回归分析显示，患者对门诊候诊区物理环境的满意度与性别、年龄、就诊频率和就诊时间有关。
患者的社会人口统计学和背景情况对其对门诊候诊区物理环境的满意度有影响。除了关注不太令人满意条目的总体排名外，在重新设计更舒适和个性化的候诊区物理环境时，还应进一步考虑患者的个人特征。
