Army personnel satisfaction in different settings of primary health care clinics.

PURPOSE: To analyze patient satisfaction in Israeli Defense Forces primary care clinics (PCCs), and to compare different satisfaction indices that best correlate with general satisfaction index. METHODS: Large-scale patient satisfaction survey throughout all PCCs, classified as active front clinics, training schools clinics, and home front clinics. RESULTS: Participants (5,103) filled out standardized questionnaires. Patients in active front clinics were more satisfied with their PCCs than in the other two settings. Patients showed the highest satisfaction level in the environment questions and the lowest satisfaction level in the accessibility questions. In training school clinics and home front clinics, accessibility questions were most important, whereas in active front clinics, health outcome questions prevailed. CONCLUSIONS: Overall patient satisfaction is the highest in active front clinics, lower in training school clinics, and lowest in home front clinics. Accessibility is the most important factor in patient satisfaction in training school and home front units, and is less important in active front units.

Evaluating delivery of primary health care to military personnel during low-intensity conflict using a patient satisfaction survey.

The delivery of medical health care to soldiers serving in active front units in the Israeli Defense Forces requires the ability to adjust to different military activity settings. This study was conducted to compare patient satisfaction, as a tool for assessing quality of care, in different activity settings: training and Low-intensity conflict setting. A patient satisfaction survey was conducted simultaneously in battalions during low-intensity conflict and training activities. Data analysis showed that patients' perception of the quality of care they received and of medical staff attitude was higher in the conflict setting. Correlation analysis revealed that patients during conflict perceived outcome of care and accessibility as most important in evaluating overall satisfaction. We suggest that perception of high-quality medical care can be obtained during conflict conditions. Interestingly, in the conflict setting, the physical environment of the clinics appears to be less crucial to patient satisfaction than physician availability and medical outcome. These results may serve as a basis for changing health delivery systems by health policy makers.