The Role of Culture in the Perception of Planned Changes in the Emergency Department and Its Influence on Patient Satisfaction

Abstract

ABSTRACT The paper aims to determine the role of (sub)culture(s) in the perceptions of planned changes made to advance healthcare quality and patient satisfaction in a problematic emergency department (ED) between 2006-2010 by comparing the findings of two-period of time. Both qualitative and quantitative designs were used. First qualitative data through observations and interviews were gathered in the Kocaeli State Hospital Emergency Department (KSHED), and then quantitative data through the two questionnaires we developed was collected. Five hundred ED patients in 2006 and 366 in 2010 responded to the surveys. Chi-square test for categorical data and paired samples t-test for ratio were used to analyze the relationships and differences between demographic characteristics and dimensions of satisfaction and perceived cultural changes of health quality by years. Several planned changes implemented in the ED between 2006 and 2010 were perceived positively by the patients and contributed significantly (p