Objective To analyze and explore positive emotional experiences of patients, in order to provide reference for improving the medical services. Methods Using NVivo software, praise letters from a tertiary hospital in Guangdong in 2020 and 2021 were used as the research object for three-level coding. The positive emotional experiences of patients were explored through tools such as analytic hierarchy process and node item map. Results A total of 8601 patient praise letters were received, and after screening, a total of 8128 valid texts were obtained. In 2020, there were 2570 patient praise letters, including 69 from the emergency department, 638 from the outpatient department, and 1863 from the inpatient department. In 2021, there were 5558 patient praise letters, including 203 from the emergency department, 2071 from the outpatient department, and 3284 from the inpatient department. The most praise letters were from the inpatient department, with a total of 5147 letters (63.3%). There were 2709 letters (33.3%) from outpatient department, and 272 letters (3.3%) from emergency department. The classification of patient praise letters showed that patient praise for the process and individuals were most common (77.4%). After step-by-step encoding, the valid text formed 36 third level nodes, 8 second level nodes, and 3 first level nodes. Patient praise letters mainly focused on emotional evaluation at the first level node, followed by emotional expression and emotional response. Word frequency analysis showed that in terms of positive emotional experiences, the word “thank you” had the highest frequency among patients. In terms of patient perception of service, the term “patience” had the highest frequency. Conclusions When patients express praise for medical services, they pay more attention to the personal performance of medical staff and the experience of the service process compared to the final result. In the process of hospital management, the emotions of patients should be fully considered.
Objective To understand the current situation of patient satisfaction management in public hospitals, and provide reference for improving the level of hospital satisfaction management and enhancing patients' medical experience. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted on public hospitals using a combination of purposive sampling and convenience sampling between May 2021 and March 2023. The survey covered the current situation of organizational support, institutional construction, human resource allocation, evaluation technology, evaluation process, work mode, assessment incentives, and effectiveness tracking in satisfaction management of public hospitals. Results A total of 101 hospitals were surveyed. Among them, 85 hospitals (84.2%) have formulated and issued satisfaction management measures, 37 hospitals (36.6%) have not set up independent satisfaction management departments, and only 27 hospitals (26.7%) have set up a dedicated budget for satisfaction management. 37 hospitals (36.6%) did not use online survey methods for satisfaction evaluation, and 14.9%, 21.8%, and 37.6% of hospitals did not include demographic information such as age, gender, and education level in the questionnaire design, respectively. 66 hospitals (65.3%) use satisfaction evaluation results as the basic basis for evaluating department and employee performance, while only 25 hospitals (24.8%) have set up a satisfaction award for year-end evaluations. There were differences in the specialized budget for satisfaction management and the design of satisfaction survey questionnaires among hospitals of different levels (P<0.05). Conclusion There are still shortcomings in the institutional construction, institutional setting, and resource investment of satisfaction management in public hospitals, which restrict its standardized and long-term development. The informationization and professionalism of satisfaction evaluation in public hospitals need to be improved, and construction needs to be strengthened to enhance data quality. The utilization and incentive mechanism of satisfaction evaluation results in public hospitals are insufficient, limiting their potential in improving service quality and employee motivation.
