Satisfaction of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with discharge coordinator management

Abstract

Introduction: A timely and coordinated preparation for hospital discharge improves a patient's quality of life and decreases the number of hospitalisations. A cross-sectional epidemiologic survey was performed in order to assess the satisfaction of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with a hospital discharge coordinator at the University Clinic Golnik. Methods: The anonymous survey was carried out with a structured questionnaire which was sent via conventional postal delivery services to 107 patients who had been hospitalised due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation between 2 November 2009 and 6 December 2011 and managed by a discharge coordinator. 60 patients returned the questionnaire. The data collected were analysed with descriptive statistics, factor analysis, the linear regression model and multiple linear regression. Results: Factor analysis shows that the general influence of three factors (communication, disease self-management and experiencing disease or symptoms) can explain 84.02 % of patient satisfaction with a hospital discharge coordinator. Satisfaction is primarily influenced by communication, followed by experiencing disease or symptoms. Discussion and conclusion: The patients are satisfied with the activities of the discharge coordinator, as confirmed by other authors. According to the research results, a discharge coordinator should be included in the hospital treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. The assessment of patient satisfaction is a useful quality indicator, as it shows opportunities for improving our work from the patients' perspective.