Evaluation of quality of life, depression and satisfaction in patients treated at the Physiotherapy teaching clinic of the State University of Northern Paraná (Uenp)

Abstract

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of care quality and can be used to set goals and identify areas for improvement. Objective: To evaluate the satisfaction, quality of life and depressive symptoms of patients at the Uenp (State University of Northern Paraná) Physiotherapy teaching clinic. Method: Cross-sectional, quantitative descriptive study. Sixty-one patients completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the “Instrument to assess patient satisfaction with physical therapy in the public health system”, the short-form-36 health survey (SF-36) to evaluate quality of life, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to determine the presence of depression. For statistical analysis, data were described using means and standard deviations, the Shapiro-Wilk test was applied to assess normality, and the variables were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient, with p ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The patient-therapist relationship was largely classified as “excellent”; the most common response for the item “respect and interest shown to patients” was also “excellent”. Patients scored well on the SF-36, indicating good quality of life; the highest scores were obtained in the “mental health” domain (65.04 ± 23.25). Regarding the depression, most patients (52.44%) displayed depressive symptoms. Correlation between satisfaction and the BDI showed a statistically significant difference in twelve dimensions. Comparison between the SF-36 and BDI indicated a statistically significant difference in eight domains. Conclusion: Patients are satisfied with the treatment received and the competence of the health care team at the clinic.