Back to Journals » Patient Preference and Adherence » Volume 9

Perceived quality of health care services among people with osteoarthritis – results from a nationwide survey
Authors Grønhaug G, Hagfors J, Borch I, Østerås N, Hagen KB
Received 9 February 2015
Accepted for publication 16 May 2015
Published 3 September 2015 Volume 2015:9 Pages 1255—1261
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S82441
Checked for plagiarism Yes
Review by Single-blind
Peer reviewer comments 4
Editor who approved publication: Dr Johnny Chen
Gudmund Grønhaug,1 Jon Hagfors,2 Ingebjørg Borch,2 Nina Østerås,1 Kåre Birger Hagen1
1National Advisory Unit on Rehabilitation in Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, 2Norwegian Rheumatism Association, Oslo, Norway
Objective: To assess the perceived quality of care received by people with osteoarthritis (OA) in Norway and explore factors associated with the quality of care.
Methods: A national survey in which members of the Norwegian Rheumatism Association with OA registered as their main diagnosis completed a questionnaire. The perceived quality of care was reported on a 17-item OsteoArthritis Quality Indicator questionnaire, covering both pharmacological and non-pharmacological aspects of OA care. In addition, the four-page questionnaire covered areas related to demographic characteristics, the location and impact of the OA, and utilization and satisfaction with health care services. The quality of care is calculated as pass rates, where the numerator represents the number of indicators passed and the denominator represents the number of eligible persons.
Results: In total, 1,247 participants (response rate 57%) completed the questionnaire. Mean age was 68 years (standard deviation 32) and 1,142 (92%) were women. Respondents reported OA in hand only (12.4%), hip only (7.3%), knee only (10.4%), in two locations (42%) or all three locations (27%). The overall OsteoArthritis Quality Indicator pass rate was 47% (95% confidence interval [CI] 46%–48%), and it was higher for pharmacological aspects (53% [51%–54%]) than for non-pharmacological aspects of care (44% [43%–46%]). The pass rate for the individual quality indicators ranged from 8% for “referral for weight reduction” to 81% for “receiving advice about exercises”. Satisfaction with care was strongly associated with perceived quality. The pass rate for those who were “very satisfied” was 33% (25%–40%) higher than those who were “very unsatisfied” with care.
Conclusion: While the OA patient seems to be rather satisfied with the perceived OA care, there is still room for improvement in the quality of care. Although the quality of care in the present study is somewhat higher than in other studies, less than 50% of the recommended care has been provided.
Keywords: quality indicator, physiotherapy, general practitioner, pass rate
This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.
By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.