Toward a theory of patient satisfaction

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Abstract

Despite the widespread concern in health care literature with patients'—or clients'—satisfaction there has been no explicit definition of that concept nor systematic consideration of its determinants and consequences. The definition of satisfaction proposed here is derived from Fishbein and Ajzen's attitude theory and from job satisfaction research. Among the various probable determinants of a patient's satisfaction with health care are his/her attitudes and perceptions prior to experiencing that care; after reviewing relevant social science theories, we hypothesize five such social psychological variables which affect satisfaction ratings. The present attempt to define the concept patient satisfaction and to hypothesize some of its determinants can be regarded as first steps in building a theory of patient satisfaction.

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    Based on doctoral dissertation research supported by a World Health Organization fellowship. The author wishes to thank Dr John Colombotos and Dr Elmer Struening, both of Columbia University, for their guidance in this research.

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