Dr. Michael Thompson co-authors paper on reasons women report satisfaction with poor quality health services in Armenia
The paper appears in the latest issue of Heath Care for Women International and builds upon previous empirical studies in Armenia conducted by Dr. Thompson and UNC Charlotte HSR PhD alumna Tsovinar Harutyunyan that identified this disconnect in ratings. Lead author Dr. Ruzanna Grigoryan notes that this qualitative study found that cultural and socioeconomic characteristics largely explain the contradiction between reported high satisfaction and objectively poor-quality:
- Although women shared an understanding of what quality care should be, many were satisfied because their low expectations were met.
- Patients avoided critiquing healthcare services because of personal relationships with and respect for their providers and fear of losing services, especially given the small communities where they live and their tight social networks.
- They also reported that it was not culturally acceptable to criticize healthcare services.
Given this insight, empirical patient satisfaction measures should not be relied upon without careful, contextual interpretation.