Article

The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of access
to and satisfaction with health care from Medicare participants with hearing
impairment. METHOD: Raw data for the study was obtained from the 2004 Medicare
Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS). Satisfaction with care was assessed using 10
of the MCBS questions probing satisfaction in a number of areas related to health
care. The data were analyzed using logistic regression. This analysis was
conducted in three steps. The first step involved identifying potentially
important predisposing and enabling variables that influenced satisfaction with
care using univariate analysis. The second step involved fitting the variables
retained from the first step into a multiple logistic regression equation to
determine a preliminary main effects model. The final analysis included
determining the odds ratio for each independent variable retained from the
earlier analysis. RESULTS: Individuals with hearing impairment demonstrated some
level of dissatisfaction with quality of health care. Each of the MCBS
satisfaction questions were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with at least one
of the communication variables. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the effects of hearing
impairment on satisfaction with health care is critical to the delivery of
effective and efficient services to individuals with such disabilities.
IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Presence of communication impairment,
specifically hearing impairment, affects satisfaction with health care. Medical
school training regarding methods to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients
with communicative impairments could lead to improved patient-provider
interactions and ultimately increased satisfaction with the provider and care
given. Health care providers need to allow for extended appointments for patients
with communication impairments. Time accommodations could prevent
misunderstandings about diagnosis and treatment methods which otherwise might
have detrimental results.

Langue : ANGLAIS