A mixed method analysis of patients' complaints: Underpinnings of theory-guided strategies to improve quality of care.
Holly Wei, Yan Ming, Hong Cheng and 3 others
PMID 31406851WHAT IT FOUND
Patients and families complained most about uncaring attitudes and perceived poor competence.
Nurses were named less often than physicians, but complaints about nurses were mostly about uncaring attitudes.
Key findings
01Complaints were most often about uncaring attitudes (224/838, 26.7%) and unsatisfactory quality of treatment and competence (222/838, 26.5%).
02Nurses were named in 65 complaints, and complaints about nurses were most about their uncaring attitudes.
03Complaints were significantly associated with the profession complained about and the hospital unit.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The data were voluntary complaints filed with one hospital, so they may not represent all patients or all complaints. The study used existing complaint records and did not collect detailed descriptions of patients' expectations for care. The cluster analysis used 821 valid cases after excluding cases with missing data. The paper describes complaint patterns and associations; it does not test whether any strategy improves care quality.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that nurses cause complaints or that caring behaviours reduce them. The study analysed voluntary complaints filed at one hospital and reported associations, not tested outcomes.