Evaluating the level of satisfaction of patients utilizing first-level health facilities as a function of health system performance rating in the province of Elazig, Turkey

Figures & data

Table 1 Distribution of patients by their socio-demographic characteristics

		Number of individuals	Percentage (%)
Sex	Male	589	45.7
	Female	701	54.3
Marital status	Married	834	64.7
	Single	375	29.1
	Other (divorced, widow)	81	6.2
Age group	18–44 years	950	73.6
	45–64 years	275	21.3
	≥65 years	65	5.1
Number of children (among married and non-single patients)	No children	74	8.2
	1 child	161	17.8
	≥2 children	669	74
Educational status	Illiterate	60	4.8
	Literate	76	5.9
	Primary school graduate	247	19.1
	Secondary school graduate	201	15.6
	High school graduate	392	30.4
	University graduate	314	24.2
Occupation	Housewife	445	34.5
	Civil servant	258	20.0
	Worker	122	9.5
	Retired	50	3.9
	Student	186	14.4
	Farmer	57	4.4
	Freelancer	172	13.3

Table 2 Percentage distribution of the scores given to EUROPEP-TR Questions

Patient satisfaction survey	n (%)					N/A
	1	2	3	4	5
He/she makes you feel you have sufficient time during visits	60 (4.7)	86 (6.7)	154 (11.9)	298 (23.1)	685 (53.1)	7 (0.5)
He/she takes care of your special condition	46 (3.6)	84 (6.5)	140 (10.9)	334 (25.9)	683 (52.9)	3 (0.2)
He/she makes it easy for you to tell your problems to him/her	26 (2.0)	73 (5.7)	137 (10.6)	326 (25.3)	723 (56.0)	5 (0.4)
He/she includes you in the decisions about your medical care	47 (3.6)	85 (6.6)	133 (10.3)	341 (26.4)	674 (52.2)	10 (0.8)
He/she listens to you	27 (2.1)	58 (4.5)	100 (7.8)	291 (22.6)	810 (62.8)	4 (0.3)
He/she keeps your records and information secret	21 (1.6)	42 (3.3)	80 (6.2)	263 (20.4)	882 (68.4)	2 (0.2)
He/she remedies your complaints soon	39 (3.0)	88 (6.8)	140 (10.9)	352 (27.3)	668 (51.8)	3 (0.2)
He/she assists you to feel so well that you can meet your daily needs	33 (2.6)	75 (5.8)	155 (12.0)	352 (27.3)	670 (51.9)	5 (0.4)
He/she does his/her job exactly	33 (2.6)	51 (4.0)	109 (8.4)	315 (24.4)	780 (60.5)	2 (0.2)
He/she examines you	23 (1.8)	54 (4.2)	102 (7.9)	337 (26.1)	770 (59.7)	4 (0.3)
Services he/she provides for your protection from diseases (health screening, health check, vaccination, etc)	32 (2.5)	48 (3.7)	111 (8.6)	317 (24.6)	779 (60.4)	3 (0.2)
He/she explains purposes of the tests and therapies	31 (2.4)	68 (5.3)	124 (9.6)	305 (23.6)	758 (58.8)	4 (0.3)
He/she gives the information you want about your complaints or disease	26 (2.0)	55 (4.3)	114 (8.8)	330 (25.6)	760 (58.9)	5 (0.4)
He/she assists you to overcome the emotional problems associated with your health condition	66 (5.1)	83 (6.4)	148 (11.5)	330 (25.6)	662 (51.3)	1 (0.1)
He/she assists you to perceive importance of complying with his/her advices	30 (2.3)	75 (5.8)	145 (11.2)	326 (25.3)	707 (54.8)	7 (0.5)
He/she knows what he/she has done and told in the previous visits	60 (4.7)	94 (7.3)	136 (10.5)	320 (24.8)	677 (52.5)	3 (0.2)
He/she prepares you for what you should expect from referral to specialist or hospital	27 (2.1)	96 (7.4)	147 (11.4)	324 (25.1)	684 (53.0)	12 (0.9)
Assistance by non-doctor personnel	46 (3.6)	61 (4.7)	128 (9.9)	320 (24.8)	731 (56.7)	4 (0.3)
You can get appointment for the times suitable for you	53 (4.1)	76 (5.9)	115 (8.9)	358 (27.8)	682 (52.9)	6 (0.5)
You can access the health center by telephone	71 (5.5)	66 (5.1)	105 (8.1)	334 (25.9)	698 (54.1)	16 (1.2)
You can access your doctor by telephone	134 (10.4)	72 (5.6)	129 (10.0)	323 (25.0)	613 (47.5)	19 (1.5)
The time you spend in the waiting room	108 (8.4)	84 (6.5)	197 (15.3)	342 (26.5)	549 (42.6)	10 (0.8)
He/she provides quick service for urgent health problems	46 (3.6)	67 (5.2)	127 (9.8)	351 (27.2)	692 (53.6)	7 (0.5)

Abbreviations: EUROPEP, European Patients Evaluate General/Family Practice; n, number of individuals who scored; N/A, not applicable.

Table 3 Comparison of EUROPEP-TR survey general average scores of the patients based on the demographic characteristics

Characteristics		Number (n)	Average ± SD	F	P-value
Age	18–44 years	903	4.26±0.77	1.280	0.278
	45–64 years	269	4.20±0.77
	≥65 years	62	4.37±0.77
Sex	Male	574	4.35±0.71	–	<0.001
	Female	660	4.16±0.81
Marital status	Married	803	4.28±0.74	2.487	0.08
	Single	352	4.17±0.83
	Other*	79	4.29±0.76
Educational status	Illiterate	57	4.16±0.76	2.995	0.01
	Literate	72	4.23±0.83
	Primary school	232	4.29±0.75
	Secondary school	197	4.41±0.64
	High school	373	4.25±0.75
	University	303	4.15±0.86
Children	No	423	4.18±0.79	–	0.01
	Yes	811	4.29±0.76
Occupation	Civil servant	248	4.18±0.82	3.797	0.001
	Worker	119	4.39±0.73
	Farmer	56	4.50±0.54
	Freelancer	166	4.36±0.67
	Housewife	422	4.24±0.75
	Student	174	4.09±0.87
	Retired	49	4.30±0.80
Income status	0–500	78	3.92±0.95	8.940	<0.001
	501–1,000	378	4.26±0.74
	1,001–2,500	578	4.34±0.72
	≥2,501	200	4.13±0.83
Difficulty in access	Never	534	4.31±0.74	0.449	0.71
	Rarely	221	4.17±0.81
	Occasionally	365	4.23±0.79
	Usually	70	4.20±0.69
	Always	44	4.12±0.87
Chronic disease	Yes	349	4.29±0.78	–	0.31
	No	885	4.24±0.77
Physical handicap	Yes	45	4.34±0.65	–	0.42
	No	1,189	4.25±0.77
Reason of application	New complaint	333	4.27±0.80	0.966	0.44
	Chronic	72	4.15±0.88
	Checkup	248	4.23±0.74
	Protective	129	4.26±0.71
	Prescription	302	4.30±0.77
	Medication report	57	4.31±0.68
	Other	93	4.13±0.81

Notes:

* P<0.05. Student’s t-test and analysis of variance.

Abbreviations: EUROPEP, European Patients Evaluate General/Family Practice; n, number of individuals who scored; SD, standard deviation.

Table 4 Table of regression analysis of the EUROPEP-TR satisfaction survey general average scores by the determined variables

Coefficients
Variables	Non-standardized coefficients		Standard coefficients	t	P-value
	B	Standard error	Beta
(Constant)	4.929	0.173		28.492	0.000
Age	−0.059	0.108	−0.017	−0.550	0.583
Sex	−0.170	0.045	−0.110	−3.754	0.000
Marital status	−0.039	0.094	−0.012	−0.414	0.679
Educational status	−0.178	0.060	−0.084	−2.987	0.003
Children	−0.100	0.048	−0.061	−2.103	0.036
Occupation	−0.083	0.067	−0.037	−1.252	0.211
Income	−0.151	0.044	−0.097	−3.437	0.001
Difficulty in access	−0.139	0.044	−0.089	−3.142	0.002
Chronic disease	−0.006	0.052	−0.003	−0.109	0.913
Physical handicap	−0.072	0.119	−0.017	−0.600	0.549

Abbreviation: EUROPEP, European Patients Evaluate General/Family Practice.