Determining the satisfaction levels of patients benefiting from home health care services: A case of Erzincan province

Since the early 2000s, significant developments and progress have been made in home healthcare services (HHS) in our country, as in the rest of the world. The most important factor that makes this situation noteworthy is the increasing demand for healthcare and caregiving in parallel with the rise in the elderly population. Due to the structure of HHS, which is provided at home rather than in hospitals, the monitoring of the service becomes challenging, making it a disadvantageous situation. In order to eliminate these disadvantages, measuring patient satisfaction during the service process is crucial for ensuring service quality. This study aims to evaluate the findings obtained by measuring the satisfaction level of patients receiving HHS in Erzincan province and to propose solutions that may positively influence the outcomes. Research data were collected from a total of 258 patients actively receiving home health care in the city center and districts of Erzincan. Among these, 118 participants were surveyed through face-to-face interviews, while 140 were contacted via telephone. As a result, the fact that the service is provided at home makes patient relatives an important part of the process. Factors such as communication during the process, privacy, staff safety, and the prolonged nature of the process, which can be exhausting, may reduce patient satisfaction. It was observed that dissatisfaction related to personnel accounted for 13.2%. To increase satisfaction levels in this regard, personnel should be supported with communication training and motivational elements. Additionally, since patient relatives are part of the process, they should be informed and supported about their direct impact on the success of the process.