Relationship between quality of diabetes care and patient satisfaction

Objective: Patient satisfaction is regarded as a component of the quality of medical care. We examined the association between quality of care and patient satisfaction. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Population-based random sample in North Carolina, United States, 1997. Participants: 591 African-Americans aged ≥18 years with self-reported diabetes were interviewed for providers' delivery of 10 preventive measures and patients' performance of four preventive measures for diabetes care. Main outcome measures: Satisfaction with health care providers with respect to 11 items, on a 4-point scale (excellent, good, fair, and poor). Average satisfaction scores were compared according to levels of quality of care. Results: Patient satisfaction was positively associated with income, employment, diabetes education, ease of getting care during the last year, having health care coverage and having one physician for diabetes care (P 1c) and cholesterol; performing eye, foot, and gum examinations; and physician counseling on self-monitoring of blood glucose concentrations, exercise, and weight reduction - were associated with higher satisfaction scores (P