Gender differences in quality of care experiences during hospital stay: A contribution to patient-centered healthcare for both men and women.

OBJECTIVES

Studies demonstrate that there are important gender differences in perceptions of medicinal care. Our aim is to investigate whether there are also gender differences in patients'quality of care experiences during their hospital stay.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional survey, patients who were admitted to a university hospital were invited to complete a questionnaire. Answers were compared between men and women of different ages, education levels, and health assessments, using the independent t-test. A linear regression model was performed to investigate the relationship between patient characteristics and hospital assessments

RESULTS

4169 questionnaires were sent (41.8% returned). Women rated the hospital significantly (P=0.007) lower than men, especially higher educated women and women between the ages of 18 and 44 years. Behaviors of nurses were perceived to be unsatisfactory by significantly more female patients than male patients (P=0.016). One in six women wanted more privacy compared with one in ten men (P<0.001), and ten percent more women suffered from pain (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Women, particularly those higher educated and between 45 and 64 years of age, assess hospital care significantly lower than men.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

To optimize patients' assessments of hospital care, women require more gender-sensitive nursing care, more privacy, and better pain management than they receive at present.