The Relationship Between Meeting Patients' Information Needs and their Satisfaction with Hospital Care and General Health Status Outcomes

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between meeting patients' information needs and their overall satisfaction with care and their general health status outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: This non-experimental study used data from hospital medical records as well as patient-completed surveys conducted two and eight weeks post discharge. The setting involved three community hospitals in the southeastern section of the US that provided care to a series of 167 acute myocardial infarction (Acute MI) patients. MEASURES: The independent variable was an index measuring how well patients' information needs were met. The dependent variables were patient satisfaction (ratings of satisfaction with care process, global satisfaction, and health benefit) and general health status outcomes (physical function, psychosocial function and quality of life). Covariates used as control variables to hold patient characteristics constant, included demographics (age, gender) and clinical measures of acute MI severity, comorbidity, angina (at eight weeks), and dyspnea (at eight weeks). ANALYSIS: Univariate analyses were employed to: (1) describe patients' characteristics; (2) determine the relative importance of meeting different types of information needs; and (3) identify information need areas most likely not to be met. Multivariate linear regression and logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between patients' ratings of meeting information needs with satisfaction and health outcomes, respectively, after controlling for covariates. RESULTS: The multivariate regression results show that meeting information needs are positively and significantly associated with both patient satisfaction measures (i.e., Ratings of Care Processes, p < 0.01; Global Satisfaction, p < 0.05, Perceived Health Benefit, p < 0.01) and one general health status measure (i.e. Quality of Life, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that providers of care should ensure that they meet the information needs of patients with specific conditions because patients' perceptions of both quality of care and quality of life are associated with the clinicians' ability to transfer key information to their patients.