Patients’ Sense of Security in Shahroud (Northeast Iran) Hospitals

Sense of security is a psychosocial phenomenon that can impact the satisfaction and health of individuals. This study aimed to determine the factors that can affect the patient's sense of security.

In this cross-sectional study, 800 patients from governmental and nongovernmental hospitals were randomly selected in 2018 using an 84-item questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

The mean score obtained in dimensions of provided services was 41.63±9.95, psychological factors 27.44±5.68, financial factors 13.23±4.06 discipline factors 13.62±4.10, provided clinical services 87.11±16.81, and hoteling factors 74.64±16.79. Overall scores categorization showed 18(2.2), 144(18.0), and 638(79.8%) had a poor, moderate, and good sense of security, respectively. Chi-square test showed a significant association between patients' sense of security levels and the type of hospitals (P = 0.001). The overall satisfaction score for patients was 22.23±5.79. There was a significant relationship between patients’ satisfaction and their sense of security. In the final model, the medical and hoteling factors had the greatest impact on patients’ sense of security.

Regarding the mutual effect of the sense of security and patients’ satisfaction and noticing that more than 20% of the patients had moderate and low levels of sense of security, paying more attention to hoteling factors and providing more insurance protection to the low-income strata can play a major role in improving patients’ sense of security.