Satisfaction with hospitalization: a comparative analysis of three types of services.

A study of patient's satisfaction with hospital services was undertaken. The purpose of the study was to explore whether and to what extent patients' satisfaction with three types of hospital services (medical, nursing and supportive) is differentially explained by patient's sociodemographic, psychosocial, situational and attitudinal characteristics. To achieve this, 476 patients were interviewed. The results of the analysis of their general satisfaction with hospitalization and a comparative analysis of satisfaction with the three types of services are presented. The best predictors of satisfaction with all three types of services (in order of their importance) are found to be: perceived improvement in health, size of social networks, satisfaction with organizations in the past, and age. The type of ward (medical vs surgical) is found to be a powerful predictor of satisfaction with physicians and nurses only. Ward effect is also interactive--improvement in one's health predicts significantly more satisfaction with medical services in medical wards than in surgical wards. The findings of this study suggest that when clients perceive that their main goal has been achieved (i.e. improvement in health), they tend to attach little importance to deficiencies in the process of achieving it (i.e. the provision of services).