Patients’ help-seeking behaviours, demands and aggression by level of hospital (% of strongly agree or agree)
| Agree (percent) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Items | Agree N (%) | 95% CIs of percentage | CHCs (N=111) | County (N=43) | Provincial (N=48) | p Value (χ2 tests) |
| Patients often go to higher level hospitals (eg, tertiary hospitals) with simple complaints which could be dealt with at a lower level hospital | 169 (83.7) | 78.0 to 88.1 | 95 (87.2) | 35 (81.4) | 39 (83.0) | 0.790 |
| Sometimes patients just want to get drugs and tests rather than really seeking medical advice from doctors | 162 (80.2) | 74.2 to 85.1 | 84 (79.2) | 38 (88.4) | 40 (85.1) | 0.631 |
| Nowadays patients are better informed about their own medical conditions so that sometimes they demand specific treatments from doctors | 168 (83.2) | 77.4 to 87.7 | 93 (86.9) | 36 (85.7) | 39 (83.0) | 0.949 |
| Patients are becoming more aggressive in their demands | 144 (71.3) | 64.7 to 77.1 | 66 (60.6) | 40 (93.0) | 38 (80.9) | 0.001 |
| The number of complaints by patients has increased in recent years | 153 (75.7) | 69.4 to 81.1 | 77 (72.6) | 41 (95.3) | 35 (72.9) | 0.006 |
| Patients are more likely to sue doctors even when they are trying to do their best | 176 (87.1) | 81.8 to 91.1 | 93 (87.7) | 43 (100.0) | 40 (83.3) | 0.107 |
| Violence against doctors by their own patients is increasing | 176 (87.1) | 81.8 to 91.1 | 92 (86.8) | 43 (100.0) | 41 (85.4) | 0.126 |