'Consumer satisfaction with paid caregiving in general hospitals according to type of paid caregiver' Chung, Kyung OKGraduate School of Health Science and Management Yonsei University (Directed by Professor Lee, Tae Wha ) Changes in the social structu...
'Consumer satisfaction with paid caregiving in general hospitals according to type of paid caregiver' Chung, Kyung OKGraduate School of Health Science and Management Yonsei University (Directed by Professor Lee, Tae Wha ) Changes in the social structure have brought about an increase in the number of nuclear families and social advances for women. So the demand for paid caregivers has increased. However, there are many difficulties in the system including service charges, additional costs for paid holidays, insincerity, increased chances of hospital infection and lack of proper maintenance of the treatment environment. While patients hire their own caregivers privately, some hospitals have a public caregiver system, and patients in these hospitals can use caregivers at lower cost The purpose of this study was to identify the present use of caregiver services, to evaluate the degree of satisfaction with the services according to type of caregiver service, private or public, and to provide data for the development of a plan which will provide good quality service with less economic and psychological burden to the patients and their families. Survey data were collected from 130 patients in 4 general hospitals in Seoul, and their families. Data were collected during April, 2004, using a questionnaire which included the patient satisfaction scale developed by Jun (2001). Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations, X² analysis, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficients. The SPSS computer program was used to facilitate analysis. The results of this study are summarized as follows; 1. More female patients used both private and public caregiver services. In the private caregiver group, 88.0% of the patients were over 60 (mean=69.3), compared to the public caregiver group, in which only 56.0% were over 60(mean=60.9). This difference was significant. However, there were no significant differences for marital status, family system, medical specialty or room to which the patient was admitted. Most patients were married, members of nuclear families, neurosurgery department patients and shared a room with 5 or more other patients. Although scores for Activities of Daily Living for the public caregiver group were higher (17.52±4.86) than the private caregiver group(16.52±4.84), the difference was not significant. The communication scores for the public caregiver group were lower, indicating that long term hospitalization of severely ill patients who are more dependent and more confused or comatose(lower mental function) used public caregiver service more frequently than private caregiver service.2. The duration of use of public caregivers was longer, but the service charge was lower as 88.0% paid under ₩30,000day. However, all patients in the private caregiver service group payed more than ₩50,000day, and 46.0% of those in the private caregiver group payed additional costs, but only 24.0% of those in the public caregiver group paid additional costs. 60.0% of the private caregiver group paid for holidays, but only 8.0% of the public caregiver paid for holidays. 3. The total score for satisfaction was high for both groups. For the private caregiver group it was 52.88±11.08, and for the public caregiver group, 58.14±9.64. This difference was significant.(t=-3.391, p=.001). In all of areas, the scores for satisfaction of the public caregiver service group were higher than private caregiver service group, ie. caregivers'' attitude, role, confidence, performance, and service charge, and all the differences were significant.4. There was a correlation between Activities Daily Living and satisfaction (r=.269, p=.007). When Activities Daily Living were low, satisfaction was higher. However, there was no significant differences in satisfaction for any other demographic characteristics. In conclusion, it was found that long-term hospitalization of older patients with high dependence resulted in more caregiver service. There were more severe patients in the public caregiver group, but the service charges, additional costs and paid holidays were less. Based on these results, patients and their families were significantly more satisfied with public caregiver service because it was not only less expensive but also had a high quality of service. Thus, caregiver services should be systemized so that patients and their families will get the best quality caregiver service