Primary health care patient satisfaction: Explanatory factors and geographic characteristics

Objective: To determine the factors that explain the levels of patient satisfaction and the role of geographical characteristics. Design: Questionnaires to patients of Primary Health Care (PHC) units in Portugal Mainland distributed to each unit according to their size; codes were distributed to guarantee single responses; the questionnaire was anonymous and confidential. Setting: Primary Health Care units in Portugal Mainland. Participants: Primary health care patients. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Overall patient satisfaction. Results: The main results indicate that the most significant dimension explaining overall patient satisfaction index is the satisfaction regarding general practitioner (GP) care, and the two other most significant explanatory variables of satisfaction are to be enrolled in a GP list and education. The bigger is the size of a PHC unit the lower is satisfaction. In rural areas, the level of satisfaction is higher than in urban areas. Comparing to the Lisbon metropolitan area, all other regions show a higher satisfaction in access dimension. Conclusions: These results contribute to the creation of strategic information relevant to the evaluation of the various models of Primary Health Care, to the commissioning and definition of health policies.