[Functional social support perceived by patients in a program of home care in rural and urban settings]. / Apoyo social funcional percibido por los pacientes en programa de atención domiciliaria en los medios rural y urbano.

OBJECTIVE: To determine functional social support in patients included in programme of care for chronic patients confined to their homes, and to compare rural area with urban area. DESIGN: Descriptive and crossover study. SETTING: Urban and rural health centres. PATIENTS: 103 patients were interviewed in their homes (41 of them were in a rural area and 62 in a urban area). All patients were included in programme of care for chronic patients confined to their homes. Patients with neurological o psychiatric disorders who were not able to answer coherently were excluded. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We used the DUKE-UNC questionnaire which measured the functional social support in two sub-scales: confidential support and affective support. We didn't find any relation between the functional social support and age, sex, civil condition or health problems. Patients of the rural area perceive less confidential support than patients of the urban area. We didn't find any difference in the perception of the affective support between both areas. CONCLUSIONS: In the rural area, the patients included in the programme of care for chronic patients confined to their homes perceive less possibility to communicate problems, important events or conflictive situations that require comprehension and help.

[User satisfaction in a health district. Differences according to the care model]. / Satisfacción de los usuarios de una zona de salud. Diferencias según modelo asistencial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate user satisfaction with their medical care, in relation to some points of care procedures, and to study the association between medical care and the care model. DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional study, carried out through a telephone poll. SETTING: Primary Care. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Systematic randomised sample of 538 users, who were listed at a Health Centre as having an individual health card. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: There was a 73.8% reply rate, with a total of 397 valid polls. Total Cronbach's alpha of the variables concerning satisfaction was 0.91. There were no differences in the sociodemographic variables between the users of the two care models. Waiting time before entering the consulting room was significantly greater among users of the reformed model (RM) than the traditional model (TM) (P < 0.00001). Variables associated with satisfaction with the doctor were: doctor's interest in the patient's problems, assessment of the time spent by the doctor in clinical investigation, agreement with the doctor's prescription, clarification of doubts, use of the clinical history and overall satisfaction with the medical care received. RM doctors were found more satisfactory for all these variables (p < 0.00001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings showed greater satisfaction among RM users.