Satisfaction of patients treated in a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department during the Covid-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Patients treated in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) departments benefit from global and multidisciplinary long-term care. The study of satisfaction represents an important element in the evaluation of the quality of the healthcare provided. The aim of this study is to assess the level of satisfaction of patients treated in the PM&R department of Sahloul university hospital of Sousse Tunisia as well as the associated factors during the year 2020. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study, including patients treated in the hospitalization and the outpatient units of the PM&R department. Monnin and Perneger scale validated in Arabic was used to measure satisfaction in its different dimensions. Medical data were completed from patients’ records. Results A total of 240 patients were included in our study. The level of satisfaction was significantly higher with the admission procedures for inpatients compared to outpatients (87.9% vs. 60.0%, p<0.001). Regarding the global assessment, 82.1% of patients were satisfied. Multivariate analysis showed that for administrative procedures, consultation for outpatients was a factor of dissatisfaction (aOR=0.18, p<0.001). Patients’ physiotherapy treatment during the Covid-19 period was negatively associated with satisfaction for logistics (aOR= 0.44, p=0.011) and for the global assessment of health care provided in our department (aOR= 0.46, p=0.04). Conclusion Our study showed overall good levels of satisfaction in the department of PM&R of Sahloul. However, more studies should follow to determine other factors that can influence satisfaction.