Experiences with acute hospital health care: a cross-sectional study among adult patients in Slovenia

Abstract

Abstract Background Patient-reported experience measures assess patients' experiences with processes in healthcare and hence support a patient-centred orientation of care. The aim of the study was to measure patients' experiences in Slovenian acute hospitals in the fields of internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics, oncology and orthopaedics. Methods The survey was based on a 2006 questionnaire already in use in Slovenia, which was updated after a literature and documentary review. The questionnaire included the following domains: admission to the hospital, time from arrival to the hospital to the bed on the ward, attitude of doctors, attitude of nurses, treatment, privacy, hospital environment and discharge from hospital. Mixed-mode study design was used, which involved a combination of traditional paper-and-pencil method and a web survey. Results The national survey was conducted in autumn 2019 and included 22 acute hospitals with 49 hospital wards. The questionnaire was validly completed by 3,684 patients, with 91.8% paper and 8.2% online questionnaires. The response rate was estimated to be 32.1%. The mean value for the general assessment of hospital treatment on a scale from 0 to 10 was 9.07. The worst rated indicators were related to hospital food (only 56.9% of patients were satisfied) and doctors' explaining the possible side effects of the newly prescribed medications (65.0% of patients agreed on obtaining such explanation). Qualitative analysis of open questions revealed that patient paid considerable attention to poor infrastructure and needs for hospital renovations. Conclusions The surveyed patients in our study rate highly the treatment in acute care hospitals. However, there is room for improvement. Increased attention to hospital environment and infrastructure is warranted in the future, including the amendments of the questionnaire. Key messages In autumn 2019, a national survey on patient’s experiences in acute care hospitals in Slovenia was conducted. 76.5% of the surveyed patients rated the medical treatment with a score of 9 or 10. Qualitative analysis of open questions revealed poor infrastructure and needed renovation of the hospitals.