Patient Expectations of Fair Complaint Handling in Hospitals
Author Information
Author(s): Friele Roland D, Sluijs Emmy M
Primary Institution: NIVEL, Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research
Hypothesis
What do patients expect from the complaint handling in hospitals?
Conclusion
Nearly all complainants want to prevent the incident from happening again, and complaint handling that does not allow for change is unlikely to meet patients' expectations.
Supporting Evidence
- 89% of complainants expect the complaint committee to recommend changes.
- 87% consider the impartiality of the committee to be of utmost importance.
- 79% want to know what corrective measures have been taken by the hospital.
Takeaway
Patients who complain about hospital care mostly want to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else, and they expect hospitals to handle their complaints fairly.
Methodology
Patients who lodged complaints at 74 hospitals in the Netherlands completed a written questionnaire about their expectations.
Limitations
Cultural differences may affect the generalizability of the results.
Participant Demographics
67% female, 33% male, 40% with higher or academic education.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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