| This study sought to identify the determinants of patient satisfaction to provide more specific guidelines for improving specific aspects of patient satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to determine which Department of Defense (DOD) active duty patient sociodemographic, health status, geographic location, and utilization factors, predict overall patient satisfaction with health care in military facilities.;Independent variables studied include patient-reported (a) sociodemographic characteristics such as age, rank, branch of service, gender, education, race, and marital status; (b) health status; (c) geographic location; and (d) utilization. The following variables commonly associated with satisfaction were also studied and used as controls: (a) access to health care, (b) caregiver communication, (c) outcomes of health care, and (d) quality of health care.;A theoretical framework developed from patient satisfaction and social identity theories and previous empirical findings was used to develop a model to predict patient satisfaction, and delineate moderating variables.;The major finding indicated in this study was the significance of patients' sociodemographic, health status, geographic location, and utilization characteristics in explaining patients' satisfaction. Age, education, rank, and health status were positively associated with satisfaction; and utilization, being assigned in the United States, and being married were negatively associated with satisfaction. Additionally, members of the Navy were the most satisfied, and members of the Army were the least satisfied. Patient race and gender appeared to have no significant relationship with satisfaction. Additionally, through factors derived by principal components factor analysis with Varimax rotation, patient-specific factors were determined to predict patients' satisfaction after controlling for factors depicting patients' evaluations of health system characteristics. Patient-specific factors provided added, although minimal, explanatory value to the determination of patients' satisfaction.;The study findings provide valuable insight into the impact of patient characteristics and can aid in the development of targeted programs of improvement and marketing. The findings also provide a clearer depiction of the importance of patient characteristics to assist in the prioritization of organizational efforts. |
