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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1434693
This article is part of the Research Topic Analyses on Health Status and Care Needs among Older Adults View all 27 articles

Assessment of patient expectations toward health professionals and quality of life among Płock (Poland) residents aged 55 and over: a cohort study

Provisionally accepted
Mariola Głowacka Mariola Głowacka 1*Monika Gasik Monika Gasik 2Waldemar Kujawa Waldemar Kujawa 3Mateusz Cybulski Mateusz Cybulski 4Agnieszka Pluta Agnieszka Pluta 5
  • 1 Faculty of Health Sciences,Collegium Medicum, Masovian Academy in Plock, Plock, Poland
  • 2 Provincial Hospital in Płock, Płock, Poland
  • 3 Collegium Medicum, Masovian Academy in Plock, Plock, Poland
  • 4 Department of Integrated Medical Care, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
  • 5 Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Torun, Poland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The right attitude of health professionals (mainly doctors) towards patients -particularly older ones -determines patients' level of illness acceptance and quality of life. The aim of the study was to assess patient expectations of health professionals and quality of life among residents of Płock (Poland) aged 55 and over in relation to sociodemographic variables and to examine correlations between these patients' expectations and their quality of life.The study included 2040 adults aged 55 and over, with 68.9% being women. A diagnostic survey was used, incorporating sociodemographic questions and two standardized scales: the Patient Request Form (PRF) and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey . This cohort study utilized a multi-stage sampling method, with data collected through a diagnostic survey. Data analysis incorporated ANOVA, post-hoc Fisher's LSD tests, and Pearson's correlation to assess relationships between variables.Results: Statistically significant differences were observed between male and female respondents in their expectations of health professionals. Women reported higher scores than men across all three PRF scales, including emotional support (4.85 vs. 4.35, p < 0.05), test-and treatment-related information (7.41 vs. 6.81, p < 0.05), and explanation of the illness (6.89 vs. 6.47). A low but statistically significant correlation was found between age and expectations for emotional support (r = 0.162, p < 0.001), as well as test-and treatment-related information (r = 0.122, p < 0.001). Respondents with secondary/postsecondary education reported the highest expectations for explanation of the illness (mean = 7.06) and test-and treatment-related information (mean = 7.64). Meanwhile, respondents with lower education levels, especially those with primary or vocational education, reported the highest expectations for emotional support (mean = 4.93). The average QoL score measured by the SF-36 was 63.45 (SD = 17.68),

    Keywords: elderly people, Health behaviours, older adults, Patient request, Quality of Life

    Received: 18 May 2024; Accepted: 04 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Głowacka, Gasik, Kujawa, Cybulski and Pluta. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mariola Głowacka, Faculty of Health Sciences,Collegium Medicum, Masovian Academy in Plock, Plock, Poland

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