Patient healthcare experiences of cancer hospitals in China: A multilevel modeling analysis based on a national survey

IMPORTANCE: Patient satisfaction is a crucial indicator for assessing quality of care in healthcare settings. However, patient satisfaction benchmark for cancer hospitals in China is not established. OBJECTIVE: To examine patient satisfaction levels in tertiary cancer hospitals in China, and inter-hospital variations after case-mix adjustment. DESIGN: A nationwide cross-sectional hospital performance survey conducted from January to March 2021. SETTINGS: At 30 tertiary cancer hospitals in China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 4,847 adult inpatients consecutively recruited at 30 tertiary cancer hospitals were included. EXPOSURES: Patient characteristics included demographic characteristics (sex, age, education, and annual family income), clinical characteristics (cancer type, cancer stage, self-reported health status, and length of stay), and actual respondents of questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Patient satisfaction was measured using 23 items covering five aspects, administrative process, hospital environment, medical care, symptom management, and overall satisfaction. Responses to each item were recorded using a 5-point Likert scale. Patient satisfaction level for each aspect was described at individual and hospital levels. Using multilevel logistic regression, patient characteristics associated with patient satisfaction were examined as case-mix adjusters and inter-hospital variation were determined. RESULTS: The satisfaction rates for symptom management, administrative process, hospital environment, overall satisfaction, and medical care aspects were 74.56, 81.70, 84.18, 84.26, and 90.86% with a cut-off value of 4, respectively. Significant predictors of patient satisfaction included sex, age, cancer type, cancer stage, self-reported health status, and actual respondent (representative or patient) (all P < 0.05). The ranking of the hospitals' performance in satisfaction was altered after the case-mix adjustment was made. But even after the adjustment, significant variation in satisfaction among hospitals remained. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study pointed to symptom management as a special area, to which a keen attention should be paid by policymakers and hospital administrators. Significant variation in satisfaction among hospitals remained, implying that future studies should examine major factors affecting the variation. In review, target interventions are needed in low-performing hospitals.