Health care satisfaction among osteoarthritis sufferers

Health care satisfaction ratings were studied in 365 (131 male and 234 female) members of a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) (ages 60-89) with osteoarthritis (OA). A hierarchical multiple regression analysis to account for variance in health care ratings showed that subjects with higher satisfaction ratings were older, tended to be male, and made fewer contacts with health care providers over the previous year. They also scored higher on arthritis self-efficacy, showing less perceived disability related to arthritis. Those with higher satisfaction ratings also believed that health care services were more accessible to them, despite their equal access. Of four factor-analytically derived subscales of health care attitudes (inconvenience, reluctance, dependence, and knowledge), only inconvenience and reluctance were significatly correlated with health care satisfaction ratings. The results suggest that perceived symptom control and inconvenience to services are important predictors of health care satisfaction in this population, despite the limited availability of treatments for OA.