HEALTH-CARE SATISFACTION AMONG OSTEOARTHRITIS SUFFERERS

Health care satisfaction ratings were studied in 365 (131 male and 234 female) members of a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) (ages 60-8 9) with osteoarthritis (OA). A hierarchical multiple regression analys is to account for variance in health care ratings showed that subjects with higher satisfaction ratings were older, tended to be male, and m ade fewer contacts with health care providers over the previous year. They also scored higher on arthritis self-efficacy, showing less perce ived disability related to arthritis. Those with higher satisfaction r atings also believed that health care services were more accessible to them, despite their equal access. Of four factor-analytically derived subscales of health care attitudes (inconvenience, reluctance, depend ence, and knowledge), only inconvenience and reluctance were significa tly correlated with health care satisfaction ratings. The results sugg est that perceived symptom control and inconvenience to services are i mportant predictors of health care satisfaction in this population, de spite the limited availability of treatments for OA.