[Women's satisfaction with pregnancy follow-up. Differences among healthcare levels]

Abstract

Objectives: To determine women's satisfaction with pregnancy follow-up and to evaluate possible differences among healthcare levels.

Methods: Cross-sectional study in women who had given birth in the University Hospital of Salamanca (Spain) between November 2002 and April 2003. Satisfaction was measured by a self-completed questionnaire after delivery. The questionnaire contained 28 items, with five optional answers (1, not satisfied; 5, highly satisfied), distributed in four dimensions: accessibility, equipment, organization of the consultation, and professional competence. Social demographic and healthcare-related variables were also included. Student's t-test, variance analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficient and logistic regression were used to study the association between these variables and satisfaction.

Results: A total of 27.1% of pregnancies were followed-up in primary care. The mean global satisfaction was 3.92 (95% CI, 3.88-3.97), and satisfaction was higher in women followed-up in primary care than those followed-up in specialized care. All dimensions obtained a global satisfaction of more than 3; "accessibility" received the worst score and "professional competence" the highest. The factors significantly associated with satisfaction were age, educational level, the presence of risk factors and complications, and the possibility of choosing the physician.

Conclusions: General satisfaction was good. Because satisfaction was higher in women followed-up in primary care than in those followed-up in specialized care, pregnancy follow-up at this level of healthcare should be supported.