The influence of gender on patient satisfaction.

Objective: To investigate the influence of gender on patient satisfaction with hospitalization care.

Methods: A random-selection, cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were collected by telephone interviews over a 2-year period utilizing a 16-item survey. Inclusion criteria were hospital admission between July 1, 1999 and July 1, 2001, age greater than 18 years, and the ability to speak on the telephone. Exclusion criteria were an admission for an obstetric purpose, physical rehabilitation, or psychiatric illness, or the inability to be reached by a telephone call. Logistic regression was used to compare gender with the responses for each of the 16 questions, while controlling for three confounders (age, race, and insurance status).

Results: 5857 patients were surveyed. Compared to men, women were significantly younger, had a higher percentage of African Americans, and more had Medicaid insurance (P < 0.05). Using multivariate analysis, women expressed significantly less satisfaction compared to men on four of the six questions related to nursing care, on three of the three questions related to entire staff care, on three of the three questions related to overall satisfaction, and on one of the two questions related to communication (P < 0.05). There was no difference in satisfaction between the genders for the two questions regarding physician are.