PATIENT EXPECTATIONS AND SATISFACTION WITH HOME HEALTH NUTRITIONAL CARE.
Contributors: Temple University.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 222
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nutrition.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Health.
Description: Home health care has experienced significant growth within the last decade due to changes in reimbursable services for hospitalized patients and changing demographics within the United States. Responsibility for providing home health nutritional care generally resides with the community health nurse.

This descriptive study examined the nutritional care provided by home health nurses using patient satisfaction as an outcome measure of quality of care. Instrumentation for the study included a self-reported patient satisfaction survey and a medical record audit. The survey was divided into four dimensions of patient satisfaction: meeting expectations, continuity of care between the physician and nurse, and interpersonal skills and technical competence of the nurse. The survey also measured self-reported patient dietary adherence and dietary adherence related beliefs adapted from the Health Belief Model. Patient sociodemographic and medical characteristics were collected from the medical record audit.

The total sample consisted of 172 adult home health patients receiving care from one of the three participating home health agencies. The subjects were primarily Caucasian older adults with multiple diagnoses. Seventy-six of the 118 survey respondents received nutritional care from the nurse. Analysis of the survey results (n = 76) indicated that patients were least satisfied with the continuity of nutritional care provided from both the physician and the nurse. Multiple regression analyses were performed to identify the dimensions of patient satisfaction predictive of satisfaction with nutritional and nursing care using sociodemographic and medical characteristics as the control variables. Technical competence and meeting expectations with the control variables were predictive of overall satisfaction with nursing care. Technical competence and interpersonal skills with the control variables were predictive of satisfaction with the nutritional care. Self-reported dietary adherence was not predictive of patient satisfaction but dietary adherence related beliefs (self-efficacy, knowledge and perceived benefits) had a significant main effect on overall satisfaction and satisfaction with nutritional care.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-06, Section: B, page: 3133.

Thesis (PH.D.)--TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, 1995.

School code: 0225.