University of Nottingham, UK.
Health (London). 2011 Mar;15(2):153-72. doi: 10.1177/1363459309360789. Epub 2010 Dec 22.
Patient information is widely regarded both as a resource and an entitlement: a means of 'empowering' patients to behave as 'consumers' of health care. Patient 'satisfaction' has come to be regarded as an important outcome of care. This article presents qualitative interview data regarding the experience of patient information provision and the results of a self-completed Information Satisfaction Questionnaire (ISQ) among patients and relatives affected by cancer. It considers the implications of the differences between these for service evaluation and current policy implementation promoting patients as informed and expert consumers of health care. The study findings contribute to growing evidence that the high rate of patients' expressed satisfaction with different aspects of service provision as indicated by structured questionnaire responses is largely an artefact of the method of data collection. Accounts of negative experiences were common, but did not translate into expressed criticism or overt dissatisfaction. It is important that the limitations of such surveys are contextualized in relation to qualitative findings such as those of the present study. Especially in the face of serious and life-threatening illness, professional constructs such as 'information delivery', 'satisfaction' and 'shared decision making' have little resonance for many patients, who prefer to trust in professional expertise and to eschew the acquisition of specialist knowledge and active involvement in decisions about health care.
一种“赋权”患者，使其成为医疗保健“消费者”的手段。患者“满意度”已被视为护理的重要结果。本文介绍了有关患者信息提供体验的定性访谈数据，以及癌症患者和亲属自我完成的信息满意度问卷（ISQ）的结果。它考虑了这些差异对服务评估和当前促进患者作为医疗保健知情和专家消费者的政策实施的影响。研究结果表明，越来越多的证据表明，患者对服务提供的不同方面表示满意的高比率，这在很大程度上是由于数据收集方法的影响。负面体验的描述很常见，但并没有转化为表达批评或明显不满。重要的是，要根据定性研究结果（如本研究），将此类调查的局限性置于上下文中。尤其是在面对严重和危及生命的疾病时，许多患者更愿意信任专业知识，并回避获取专业知识和积极参与医疗保健决策，而“信息传递”、“满意度”和“共同决策”等专业构建对他们来说几乎没有共鸣。
