Unheard voices: complaint patterns of older persons in the health care system

Abstract

To examine the patterns and prevalence of complaints about health services among older clients of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), explore demographic correlates, and compare results with the patterns in the younger population. Primary data were collected from the responses of subjects who participated in two national phone surveys, conducted in Israel over a period of 2 years. The final sample included 372 participants aged 65 and older, and 796 younger persons, who believed they had reasons to complain about their HMO. Of the 372 participants with cause to complain, only 23% had actually complained. Subjects who were 75-years-old and above, with below-average income, had 2.5 times higher probability for not complaining than people under 65. No statistically significant differences were found between the older participants and younger participants regarding the reasons for complaints or the procedures for making them. Recommendations are made for the recognition of older persons as a unique group within the health care system and for developing organizational mechanisms for capturing their unheard voices by HMOs.

Understanding eldercare users' views on quality of care and strategies for dealing with problems in Swedish home help services

“…It has been suggested that the elderly people want to show their loyalty and gratitude to the staff (Socialstyrelsen ), fear of retribution (Leventhal ), do not know how or to whom to complain (Doron et al . ), have a different complaining pattern (Doron et al . ) and have low expectations concerning the support they are eligible to receive (Boumans et al .…”

“…), have a different complaining pattern (Doron et al . ) and have low expectations concerning the support they are eligible to receive (Boumans et al . , Leventhal ).…”

“…Information and accessibility is sometimes included in informational continuity (van Achterberg et al 1996, Haggerty et al 2003. As mentioned earlier, care users have referred to a lack of information and accessibility as a reason why there are few complaints in eldercare (Doron et al 2011). Three questions concerning access and information were posed; one example is: 'Do you know to whom you can turn if you have questions?…”

“…The respondents were asked to describe the reasons for their unwillingness to complain. The results showed that unwillingness to complain was related to low expectations of eliciting a response, lack of motivation and time, not knowing how to submit a complaint, not being used to complaining and their health condition (Doron et al 2011). Furthermore, an interview study in German care homes showed that, although residents expressed discontent, these accounts were followed by expressions of overall satisfaction (Kelle 2008).…”

Patient experiences and predictors in an acute geriatric ward: A cross‐sectional study

“…Problems identified among patients over 65 years have been, for example, communication breakdown, inadequate information provided, abscence of due care and long waiting times, as measured by hospital complaints presented by patients or their advocates (Anderson, Allan, & Finucane, 2000). Recommendations have been made for the recognition of older persons as a unique group within the healthcare system, and for developing organisational mechanisms for capturing their unheard voices (Doron, Gal, Shavit, & Wiesberg-Yosub, 2011).…”