Inpatient satisfaction survey based on national standard satisfaction questionnaire conducted in a tertiary hospital in Shenyang, China

Abstract Background In 2019, China released its first standardized patient satisfaction survey questionnaire and conducted a nationwide survey. However, due to significant developmental disparities among regions, the applicability of this national standard questionnaire remains unverified at the individual healthcare institution level. Furthermore, previous satisfaction studies often focused on influencing factors, with limited exploration into the relationships between these factors and their roles. This study aims to validate the national standard satisfaction questionnaire in a tertiary general hospital in Northeast China. Utilizing the questionnaire's inherent structure, the research investigates factors influencing inpatient satisfaction and explores the relationships and determinative roles of these factors. Method This research employed a cross-sectional survey, utilizing the national standard satisfaction questionnaire, at a tertiary comprehensive hospital in Shenyang, Northeast China. The survey links were distributed through short message service (SMS) to inpatients between April and July 2022, with participation being voluntary. A total of 850 responses were gathered, resulting in a response rate of 5.51%. Result The results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) demonstrate a well-fitting model for the questionnaire (c2/df = 2.931). Factors such as “Doctor communication”, “Medicine information”, “Discharge instructions”, “food”, and “medical staff’s attitudes towards patients’ visitors” emerged as significant influencing factors of inpatient satisfaction (all, p < 0.05). Additionally, “Gender” and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) level impacted patient satisfaction levels (both, p < 0.001) . Further Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) analysis indicates that the key determinants of variations in patient satisfaction are ADL level and "Medication Information"(both, p < 0.001) . Conclusion The satisfaction level in hospitals is primarily determined by the communication skills between doctors and patients, and it could be enhanced by providing professional assistance to patients with higher activities of daily living (ADL) levels and offering comprehensive information about medicines to all patients. Satisfaction levels exhibit baseline variations among different populations, such as males and females. The involvement of family caregivers has impacted the structure of the satisfaction model, along with various other aspects.