Opinions of mothers whose children died during their first year of life in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil

This research focused on opinions of mothers in Londrina whose infant children had died in 1997, attempting to demonstrate the feasibility and utility of studies on user satisfaction with health services. Opinions were analyzed according to type (positive, negative, or both positive and negative) and comments. The majority of mothers had positive opinions of the health services, especially prenatal care (75.6%), while fewer (52.6%) gave a positive assessment towards the hospital care provided to their infants who had died before they could be discharged from hospital. Most of the low opinions (21.1%) concerned intrapartum care. Analysis of comments revealed satisfaction but also some problems in the relationship between the physician staff and patients; others related to the organization of services and medical techniques or guidance. This type of study can be useful for a more comprehensive evaluation of health care provision.