Abstract
Background
Satisfaction with care and quality of life (QoL) are indicative of the quality of care of cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to lay a cornerstone for patient-centred quality management by assessing the current status of satisfaction with care and QoL among oncological outpatients in Germany, and by identifying the key factors that determine a patient’s willingness to recommend a medical facility.
Patients and methods
A self-constructed and validated patient satisfaction questionnaire plus the SF-36 were distributed to a random sample of 3384 cancer patients who presented at 24 investigators’ offices nationwide within a defined recruiting period and who met the inclusion criteria. The return rate was 81.9% (n=2772). A total of 2659 (78.6%) questionnaires were evaluable. The most common cancer types were breast (22.9%) and intestine (19.8%).
Results
Overall satisfaction was high, but specific reporting questions revealed many areas for improvement such as shared decision making, doctor-patient communication and organization of care. QoL was significantly impaired in many domains. Patient-provider relationship, facility setting and information on diagnosis and treatment options are major determinants of a patient’s willingness to recommend a facility to a friend or relative if needed.
Conclusions
This multicentre study focusing on patient perspectives highlights that, although the overall degree of satisfaction was quite high, there are numerous areas for improvement.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Behrend SW (1994) Documentation in the ambulatory setting. Semin Oncol Nurs 10:264–280
Biermann CW, Höing M, Kuhlmann A, Emmermann A, Tews JT (2000) Assessment of satisfaction with care and quality of life for cancer patients. Ann Oncol 11 [Suppl 4]:145
Blitzer EM, Dierks ML (1995) Entwicklung eines Klassifikationssystems patientenseitiger Qualitätskriterien medizinischer Versorgung – ZAP-Class. Gesundheitswesen 57:562–563
Brédart A, Razavi D, Delvaux N, Goodman V, Farvacques C, Van Heer C (1998) A comprehensive assessment of satisfaction with care for cancer patients. Support Care Cancer 6:518–523
Bullinger M (1990) Lebensqualität: Ein neues Bewertungskriterium für den Therapieerfolg. In: Pöppel E, Bullinger M (eds) Medizinische Psychologie. VCH, Weinheim
Cleary PD (1999) The increasing importance of patient surveys. BMJ 319:720–721
Cleary PD, Edgman-Levitan S (1997) Health care quality—incorporating consumer perspectives. JAMA 278:1608–1612
Cooley ME, Lin EM, Hunter SW (1994) The ambulatory oncology nurse’s role. Semin Oncol Nurs 10:245–253
Dierks ML, Bitzer EM (1998) Die Patientenperspektive im Qualitätsmanagement-Fokusgruppen-Diskussionen als qualitatives Erhebungsinstrument. In: Ruprecht TM (ed) Experten fragen—Patienten antworten. Asgard, Sankt Augustin
Donabedian A (1980) Explorations in quality assessment and monitoring—the definition of quality and approaches to its assessment. Health Administration Press, Ann Arbor
Duff L, Harvey G, Handa U, Kitson A (1995) Quality Improvement of nursing care in hospitals in India: the dynamic approach. Int J Qual Health Care 7:143–151
Fallowfield L, Ford S, Lewis S (1995) No news is not good news: information preferences of patients with cancer. Psychooncology 4:197–202
Ford LG (1989) Therapy: state-of-the-art assessment of quality—the National Cancer Institute perspective. Cancer S64:219–222
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (1990) Primer on indicator development and application. Measuring quality in healthcare. JCAHO, Oakbrook Terrace, IL
Klebert A, Schrader E, Straub WG (1987) Kurzmoderation: Anwendung der Moderationsmethode in Betrieb, Schule und Hochschule, Kirche und Politik, Sozialbereich und Familie bei Besprechungen und Präsentationen. Windmühle, Hamburg
Kleeberg UR (1985) Die Rolle des Onkologen bei der psychischen Betreuung seiner Patienten. Hamburger Ärzteblatt 39:90–94
Kleeberg UR (1998) Hoffnung erhalten beim unheilbar Krebskranken. Med Klin 93:322–327
Koch U, Weis J (1998) Krankheitsbewältigung bei Krebs und Möglichkeiten der Unterstützung. Schattauer Verlag, Stuttgart
Levine MA, Birnbaum HA (1998) Integrated health management—the patient-centered future of demand management. Dis Manage Health Outcomes 3:11–22
Macnee CL, Penchansky R (1994) Targeting ambulatory care cases for risk management and quality management. Inquiry 31:66–75
Marder RJ (1991) Measuring the quality of care for the cancer patient. Cancer S67:1753–1758
Quabeck K, Schaefers M (1997) Möglichkeiten der ambulanten hämatologisch-onkologischen Diagnostik und Therapie. Der Onkologe S1:33–37
Sitzia J, Wood N (1998) Patient satisfaction with cancer chemotherapy nursing: a review of the literature. Int J Nurs Stud 35:1–12
Thomas LH, MacMillan J, McToll E, et al (1995) Obtaining patients’ views of nursing care to inform the development of a patient satisfaction scale. Int J Qual Health Care 7:153–163
Treurniet HF, Essink-Bot ML, Mackenbach JP, van der Maas PJ (1997) Health-related quality of life: an indicator of quality of care? Qual Life Res 6:363–369
Volmer T (1996) Lebensqualität und Qualität in der Medizin: Ökonomische Bedeutung und Nutzen eines neuen Beurteilungskriteriums. In: Petermann F (ed) Lebensqualität und chronische Krankheit. Dustri, München
Ware JE, Snow KK, Kosinski M, et al (1993) SF-36 health survey: manual and interpretation guide. The Health Institute, New England Medical Center, Boston, MA
Ware JE, Kosinski M, Keller SD (1994) SF-36 physical and mental health summary scales: a user’ s manual. The Health Institute, New England Medical Center, Boston, MA
Wiggers JH, Donovan KO, Redman S, Sanson-Fisher RW (1990) Cancer patient satisfaction with care. Cancer 66:610–616
Acknowledgements
We dedicate this publication to all the patients and their relatives who showed us how important it was for them to support the study. Special thanks go to Dr. Sabine Tews (GlaxoSmithKline Germany) for her valuable input and the tireless support of the PASQOC study. The authors would also like to thank Dieter Schulenberg (German Cancer Society) and Dipl.-Soz. Wolfgang Guenther (Picker Institut Deutschland) for their unconditional support. Funding for the PASQOC study was provided by GlaxoSmithKline GmbH & Co. KG, Germany.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
PAtient Satisfaction and Quality of life in Oncological Care
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kleeberg, U.R., Tews, JT., Ruprecht, T. et al. Patient satisfaction and quality of life in cancer outpatients: results of the PASQOC* study. Support Care Cancer 13, 303–310 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-004-0727-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-004-0727-x