Keywords: Patient Satisfaction; Patient-Centered Care; Personality

Background:

Person-centered care (PCC) is a well-established driver of patient satisfaction. However, the relative influence of PCC compared to patient-inherent factors, like personality traits, within a single predictive model is not well understood. This represents a key research gap, as it is unclear whether patient satisfaction is shaped more by the quality of the care delivered or by the patient's own disposition.

Research questions:

How do perceived person-centered care, patient personality traits, and sociodemographic factors collectively contribute to the prediction of overall patient satisfaction?

Method:

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 patients at the Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Hospital outpatient clinics. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire and three validated scales: the Turkish version of the Patient Perception of PCC Scale (Reverse scored; lower is better), the Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction Scale (Reverse scored; lower is better), and the ten-item Big Five Personality Scale. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors of patient satisfaction.

Results:

The study included 250 participants (67.6% female) with a mean age of 38.19 ± 15.29 years. The final regression model was statistically significant (p<0.001) and explained 62.8% of the variance in patient satisfaction. The analysis identified the perception of PCC as the most powerful predictor (B=0.336, p <0.001), indicating that a higher perception of person-centeredness is strongly associated with greater satisfaction. Additionally, perceived income level was a significant factor, with patients reporting a higher income level also reporting greater satisfaction (B=−0.485, p=0.040). Among personality traits, only neuroticism had a statistically significant impact; higher levels of neuroticism were associated with lower patient satisfaction (B=0.234, p=0.020).

Conclusions:

Patient satisfaction is a multifactorial construct significantly predicted by the quality of patient-centered communication, socioeconomic status, and specific personality traits. The findings underscore that enhancing patient-centered approaches is a critical strategy for improving overall patient satisfaction in clinical practice.

Points for discussion:

This study identifies that patient-inherent factors, such as neuroticism and socioeconomic status, significantly impact satisfaction. How can healthcare systems and providers develop strategies to mitigate the negative influence of these factors—which lie outside their direct control—to ensure a more equitable standard of patient satisfaction?