Nurse Managed Care and Patient Satisfaction Among the Lower Socioeconomic Status Population
Armendarez, Nicole; Johnston, Susanna
2009
Abstract
Background: The purpose of this research study is to discover if nurse practitioner managed care provides patient satisfaction and quality of care. Also of interest: Can a known patient satisfaction survey instrument be adapted for use with nurse practitioners (NP’s)? What are the measures of patient satisfaction and its subscales in this population and setting? How does patient satisfaction with nurse practitioner care using a national survey instrument in a Midwestern university health center compare to the published literature? The literature review for this study revealed numerous accounts of nurse practitioners associated with high levels of patient satisfaction. In general, high rates of patient satisfaction with nurse practitioner care are reported in many studies in the literature, and nurse practitioner care has been found to be comparable or higher than physician care in patient satisfaction ratings. Few studies examine this in a lower socioeconomic population as this study pilot has done, and few have used a national survey tool. Methods: A convenience sample of thirty patients was obtained using a self reporting survey instrument and recruitment was done at an urban Midwestern university health center. Participants received a $10 gift card for a local convenience fast food restaurant after the survey was completed and returned to the researcher. The survey answers were entered and analyzed utilizing SPSS. Inclusion criteria included: patient population between the ages o f 18 to 64 years of age, and were participating in a specific “health plan” designed for patients whose income was within the 150% poverty level, and receiving patient care at the academic Midwestern health center. Results: There were some general measures that were studied which included: getting the care that the patient needed, receiving care without a long waiting time, communication between the health care provider and the patient, and customer service from the office staff. Results did reveal that 73.1% o f patients did feel as though they needed the nurse practitioner’s assistance in order to make changes to prevent illness. 69.2% of patients said that their diet and eating habits were addressed by the nurse practitioner and 84.6% stated that the nurse practitioner spoke to them about the amount of exercise and/or physical activity they were receiving. Results also revealed that their patients who feel they are satisfied and receiving quality care generally like nurse practitioners. Validity: The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) national survey tool that was utilized for this project is a standardized instrument. The published protocol for fielding the survey was used to insure a uniform approach when collecting the data. The survey also includes a set of analysis programs and instructions to minimize variations in how the results of the survey are processed and interpreted. Conclusion: It has been shown in the literature that nurse practitioners provide an invaluable service to patients in regards to illness, health promotion, and disease prevention and for the most part, patients are satisfied with the care they receive by a nurse practitioner. This study not only benefited the Midwestern university health center by providing the necessary feedback regarding patient satisfaction, it also provided pilot study data that was lacking in the literature regarding nurse practitioner managed care in a lower socio economic population and patient satisfaction. Lastly a nationally available patient satisfaction instrument was adapted with permission for use with nurse practitioners.Subjects
nurse practitioner college health center patient satisfaction
Types
Thesis
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
Remediation of Harmful Language
The University of Michigan Library aims to describe library materials in a way that respects the people and communities who create, use, and are represented in our collections. Report harmful or offensive language in catalog records, finding aids, or elsewhere in our collections anonymously through our metadata feedback form. More information at Remediation of Harmful Language.
Accessibility
If you are unable to use this file in its current format, please select the Contact Us link and we can modify it to make it more accessible to you.