We sought to evaluate the satisfaction of surgical patients in order to identify predictors
of patient satisfaction, using a cross-sectional surgery patients' survey in 24 public
hospitals in Spain and a total of 15,539 inpatients and 7,899 outpatients.
Seventy-seven percent of inpatients and 88.3% of outpatients were satisfied (chi(2)
= 509.31; P < .0001). Case-mix and hospital size were associated with satisfaction
in inpatients (chi(2) = 19.31; P = .013). Older inpatients tended to be more satisfied
(chi(2) = 80.54; P = .001), whereas; younger outpatients showed higher satisfaction
levels (chi(2) = 51.73; P = .004). The most influential factors on inpatient satisfaction
were information at admission (odds ratio [OR], 4.05; 95% confidence interval [CI],
2.91-5.63), knowing what type of professional one was dealing with at any given time
(OR, 4.01; 95% CI, 3.01-5.34), and informed consent (OR, 3.37; 95% CI, 2.41-4.71).
For outpatients, the most influential factors were informed consent (OR, 7.62; 95%
CI, 3.68-15.80) and information about home care after discharge (OR, 7.010; 95% CI,
3.06-15.96).
We should consider the importance of patient information before and after treatment
in the design of clinical pathways to offer better and more comprehensive care to
surgical patients.