Patient dissatisfaction associated with physician-patient linguistic discordance in California clinics: an analytical cross-sectional study

BMC Health Services Research

Research

Arturo Juárez-Flores¹  Gustavo A. Olaiz-Fernández¹  Daniel A. Muñiz-Salinas¹  Omar Rodríguez-Mendoza¹  Miguel A. Fernández-Ortega¹ 

[1] Centro de Investigación en Políticas, Población y Salud, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico;

关键词: Patient satisfaction;    Primary health care;    Communication barriers;    Emigration and immigration;    Health services accessibility;    Language;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-023-09176-2

 received in 2022-04-05, accepted in 2023-02-13,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPatient satisfaction is considered as a product of two psychological processes, a cognitive one, including expectations and perceptions, and an emotional one resulting from the congruence between expectation and subjective perception of the user. The objective was to identify the factors associated with the level of perceived satisfaction in patients treated in 36 nonprofit health clinics that offer comprehensive health care services in four counties in the state of California, United States.MethodsCross-sectional analytical study in 14 clinics in four California counties. It consisted of the application of a 30-item questionnaire to determine the degree of patient satisfaction with the clinic. The factorial composition of the quality of care and clinic quality components was analyzed and two factors with an Eigen value greater than 1 were obtained.ResultsA total of 846 responses were registered. Factor analysis identified two underlying dimensions: Physician Attitude and Empathy. It was found that the discordance in language between the physician and the patient generates a difference in the perception of satisfaction. Patients who prefer to speak English have better satisfaction than those who speak Spanish. Spanish speakers who do not have interpreter have lower satisfaction than those who do (p < 0,01).ConclusionsThe most important sociodemographic cofactor was language. Satisfaction decreased in Spanish-speaking patients who were not proficient in the use of English since they expressed fewer comments and doubts.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

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