Psychiatric civil and forensic inpatient satisfaction with care: the impact of provider and recipient characteristics

Introduction The goal of the study was to understand what characteristics of the provider and recipient of psychiatric care on inpatient civil and forensic units impact satisfaction ratings. Specifically, we explored how demographic variables (age, race), psychiatric diagnosis (psychotic, affective, substance-related), and patients’ interactions with staff influence satisfaction ratings. Materials and Methods After matching inpatient samples on demographic characteristics, 384 psychiatric inpatients (188 civil, 196 forensic) who completed surveys assessing their satisfaction with care were included in the present study. Demographic variables and psychiatric diagnosis information was gathered from chart reviews and in collaboration with the patients’ treatment team. A series of univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted to test main and interaction effects influencing mean satisfaction ratings. Results While ratings did not differ for recipients’ unit type, age, diagnosis, or perceiving a connection with staff, significant differences were found for race and perceiving a problem with staff. Interaction effects emerged for unit type by psychotic diagnosis and race by perceiving a problem with staff. Supplemental analyses also examined how provider and recipient characteristics influenced components of satisfaction. Conclusion Increasing patient satisfaction by targeting more “vulnerable” patients and addressing relations with staff may impact treatment compliance.