Patient satisfaction with outpatient physical therapy in Saudi Arabia

Assessing quality of health care in the context of patient satisfaction from patients' perspective among a physical therapy and rehabilitation unit

Health service policies are evolving into qualified health care providing best possible outcomes as well as focused on patient satisfaction. Hence the qualification valued health care includes patient satisfaction measurements, it is suggested to get feedbacks during the assessment of outcomes from the patient's perspective. Aging of the world population accelerates demand on rehabilitation medicine which means recovering impairments so is directly related with quality of life. This study measures the patient satisfaction among 286 patients referring to outpatient clinics and receiving therapy within Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit of City Hospital in Balikesir, Turkey. Results showed 63.4 ± 2.6 years mean of age and female majority (63.6%). Region of therapy included 9.8% for total body, plegic syndromes, 19.6% for neck, 25.2% for shoulder, 21.6% for knee and 23.8% for lumbar regions. Patients are grouped in two according to 'yes' or 'no' answer of the question 'Do you agree with you have benefit from applied treatment, does the treatment met your expectations?'. 274 patients (95.8%) were agree with therapy met their expectations. Article discusses one of the valid patient satisfaction questionnaire as evidence based outcome measures. In divisions the means of query scores were 3.9 for technical quality, 4.2 for communication with therapist, 3.6 for physical comfort, 3.9 for communication with secretary, 4.1 for communication with doctor, 3.5 for accessibility and 3.5 for cleanliness. Comparison of means among groups did not seem statistically significant as result of Mann-Whitney U test, p > 0.05. In conclusion in the context of qualified health service providing, it is essential to get feedback from health care receivers to measure satisfaction and this needs improvement of generally valid questionnairres. Improved communication and greater provider sensitivity towards patients can enhance patient satisfaction resulting as meeting the expectation.

Effects of Physiotherapy Interventions for Poststroke Fatigue: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Poststroke fatigue affects half of global patients with stroke, causing early exhaustion, weariness, and dependence. Physiotherapy interventions like exercise and aerobic training are recommended to alleviate symptoms, but their effectiveness is not well supported. This review evaluates physiotherapy's effectiveness in treating poststroke fatigue in adults.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review using a comprehensive search across multiple databases, including ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, PEDro, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and WHO ICTRP. We searched for English-language articles using various keywords, without any restrictions on date, document type, or publication status, and included only randomized controlled trials. After removing duplicates through EndNote X7, 2 independent reviewers screened and reviewed the remaining articles. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was applied to assess the quality of included studies.

RESULTS

A total of 712 articles were reviewed, and after removing duplicates, 450 articles were left, then only 34 articles passed the title screening and 29 were excluded due to various reasons. Therefore, only 4 randomized controlled trials were found relevant after screening out 416 irrelevant ones. The average percentage of participants across all 4 randomized controlled trials was 44.65% men and 55.35% women, with an average age of 59.1 years. The review assessed a range of physiotherapy treatments, such as caregiver-mediated exercise with e-health support, graded activity training with cognitive therapy, and circuit training exercises. Graded activity training with cognitive therapy approach has effectively reduced poststroke fatigue (P<0.001) and improved endurance levels (ηp2=0.20; P<0.001). On the contrary, circuit training is not effective. Caregiver-mediated exercises and e-health supported exercises have been shown to impact functional recovery positively.

CONCLUSIONS

Among all the studies evaluated, only 1 intervention, the graded activity training with cognitive therapy, significantly reduced fatigue after stroke. However, more research is needed to study the effect of physiotherapy interventions.

REGISTRATION

URL: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/; Unique identifier: CRD42017075196.

The MedRisk instrument for measuring patient satisfaction with physical therapy care: validation in the Singapore outpatient physiotherapy setting

BACKGROUND

Patient satisfaction (PS) serves an important role in physiotherapy. Being able to measure PS is important for improving service delivery. The MedRisk has not been validated in the Singapore population.

OBJECTIVE

To validate the use of the MedRisk instrument for measuring PS in a local outpatient clinic, and to explore if PS was affected by continuity of care or individual items in the MedRisk.

METHODS

Three hundred and one participants who underwent physiotherapy in the clinic completed the MedRisk instrument. Factor analysis was adopted to group the individual items in the MedRisk questionnaire into components and multiple regression was conducted to explore items predicting the two global ratings.

RESULTS

Factors affecting PS can be grouped into two distinct components, therapist-related attributes and organizational factors (47.7% and 11.8% of variance explained, respectively). All questionnaire items were retained. Giving patients a home exercise program (overall satisfaction [OS] r = 0.691 and willingness to return to the same clinic [WR] r = 0.578) and listening to the patients' concerns (OS r = 0.685, WR r = 0.569) correlated with both overall satisfaction and willingness to return. Continuity of care was not correlated to overall satisfaction (r = 0.001, p = .988) or willingness to return for treatment (r = 0.069, p = .234).

CONCLUSION

The MedRisk instrument is applicable to the local population. Patient satisfaction with outpatient physiotherapy services was predominantly influenced by therapist-related attributes.

Use of Patient-Reported Data within the Acute Healthcare Context: A Scoping Review

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) and patient satisfaction surveys provide important information on how care can be improved. However, data collection does not always translate to changes in practice or service delivery. This scoping review aimed to collect, map and report on the use of collected patient-reported data used within acute healthcare contexts for improvement to care or processes. Using JBI methods, an extensive search was undertaken of multiple health databases and trial registries for published and unpublished studies. The concepts of interest included the types and characteristics of published patient experience and PROMs research, with a specific focus on the ways in which data have been applied to clinical practice. Barriers and facilitators to the use of collected data were also explored. From 4057 records, 86 papers were included. Most research was undertaken in North America, Canada or the UK. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems tool (HCAHPS) was used most frequently for measuring patient satisfaction. Where reported, data were applied to improve patient-centred care and utilization of health resources. Gaps in the use of patient data within hospital services are noticeable. Engaging management and improving staff capability are needed to overcome barriers to implementation.

Patient's satisfaction in physiotherapy outpatient departments of Amhara regional comprehensive specialized hospitals, Ethiopia

Background

Satisfaction is basically the state of being gratified and act of fulfilling one's need or desires. Nowadays, evidence-based practice concept is prevailing and there has been a growing interest in the measurement of patient satisfaction in healthcare research. Patient satisfaction surveys provide several benefits for healthcare professionals. Assessing patient’s satisfaction with physiotherapy service could generate knowledge that can utilized for improving or maintaining quality service. Although a wide coverage and high emphasis givens to patient satisfaction studies in developed counties, there are few research’s done in Africa. This study aimed to assess satisfaction in physiotherapy service and identify predictors that affect satisfaction among patient treated in physiotherapy outpatient department.

Objectives

To assess satisfaction in physiotherapy service and identify associated factors among patients in physiotherapy outpatient department in Amhara regional state comprehensive specialized hospitals.

Method

Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among physiotherapy outpatients from April to June 2021, at three selected Comprehensive specialized hospitals. Data were collected by interviewing participants using semi-structured questionnaire. Patient satisfaction was determined by using Medrisk tool. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression method were used to identify predictor factors.

Result

A total of 409 participants with a response rate of 95% were included in this study. The overall satisfaction among physiotherapy outpatient attendee was 50.1% with 95% CI (46.2–55.7). Pain level (AOR = 5.59 95%CI (2.58–12.1), longitudinal continuity of care (AOR = 3.02 95%CI (1.46–6.62) and self-rated health improvement (AOR = 3.76, 95% CI (1.78–7.94) were significantly associated factors.

Conclusion

The overall satisfaction in this study were found to be low in Amhara regional state comprehensive specialized hospitals. pain level, self-rated health improvement and longitudinal continuity of care were significantly associated factors.

Patient satisfaction of hand therapy services

STUDY DESIGN

This study utilized a cross-sectional cohort design that used survey techniques for data collection.

INTRODUCTION

Patient satisfaction is becoming increasingly important in the health care field; however, it is typically evaluated with the use a single question. Patient satisfaction encompasses numerous aspects that should be considered on evaluation.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to determine if the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form (PSQ-18) is an appropriate outcome measure to determine patient satisfaction for people receiving hand therapy services and to determine mean satisfaction scores of participants.

METHODS

Participants (n = 123) who received hand therapy services from an outpatient hand therapy center and a health care institute were obtained via a convenience sample. The PSQ-18, adapted for hand therapy, was used to assess patient satisfaction.

RESULTS

The mean satisfaction score was 1.81 (SD = 1.26). The following patient satisfaction subscales were also evaluated: general satisfaction, communication, technical quality, interpersonal manner, time spent with therapists, accessibility and convenience, and financial aspects.

DISCUSSION

Eighty percent of participants were satisfied with the therapy services they received. Patient satisfaction is complex, involving a multitude of components and thus must be evaluated in a manner that considers its multidimensional aspects.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study suggest that the PSQ-18 adapted for hand therapy is an appropriate outcome measure to determine patient satisfaction for people receiving hand therapy as it evaluates multiple subscales of the phenomena.

Patient Satisfaction With Physiotherapy Services in Libya: A Cross-Sectional Study

Patient satisfaction (PS) is an essential indicator of the quality of physiotherapy services. However, regarding Libya, there has been a dearth of research on PS. This cross-sectional study aimed to measure PS with outpatient physiotherapy services and to examine the sociodemographic factors that influence the levels of satisfaction in Libya. Patient satisfaction with physiotherapy services was assessed using a reliable, valid, and structured questionnaire. Data were collected from 501 patients, and the participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 79 (mean ± standard deviation = 47.19 ± 12.8), with more females (n = 312) than males (n = 189). Participants were satisfied or very satisfied with the physiotherapy they received in the domains that measure PS. The highest percentage of satisfaction was in the physiotherapists’ attributes and ability to provide detailed explanations to their patients. Patient satisfaction was also associated with gender and occupation, with females and unemployed patients reporting higher satisfaction rates. This highlights the value of surveys administered to patients during treatments, as well as the value of strategies to address the influential factors for the improvement of PS in public physiotherapy clinics in Libya.

What Factors Affect Patient Satisfaction in Public Sector Hospitals: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

Patient satisfaction can identify specific areas of improvement in public sector hospitals. However, the Pakistani healthcare system, and quality of service delivery is rarely assessed through the perspective of patient satisfaction. Our study demonstrated the performance of public healthcare systems in Pakistan by interacting with physical services (tangible and environmental), doctor⁻patient communication, and pharmacy and laboratory services based on patient satisfaction. Primary data were collected from the patients by using a random sampling method. Patients who participated in the study were visitors of public hospitals' outpatient departments. A total of 554 questionnaires were circulated, and 445 were received. The confirmatory factor and multiple regression analyses were employed to analyze the collected data. The results revealed that laboratory, as well pharmacy services, had positive significant effects (p = 0.000) on patient satisfaction, while doctor⁻patient communication (p = 0.189) and physical facilities (p = 0.85) had an insignificant relationship with patient satisfaction. Therefore, it is suggested that a significant communication gap exists in the doctor⁻patient setting, and that Pakistan's healthcare system is deprived of physical facilities. Consequently, such services need further improvements.