The association between patient satisfaction and quality of life in Chinese lung and liver cancer patients

Background: Patient satisfaction has been accorded increased importance in evaluating the quality of health care. However, only a few studies have examined factors associated with patient satisfaction in cancer populations, with no data currently available in Chinese oncology populations. Objectives: We sought to examine the longitudinal course of the relationship between patient satisfaction and quality of life (QoL) in Chinese cancer patients. Methods: A total of 253 liver cancer patients and 334 lung cancer patients were assessed during their first outpatient visit (baseline) and at 2 follow-up interviews (FU1 and FU2). QoL was measured by the Chinese version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General Scale [FACT-G (Ch)]. Patient satisfaction was assessed by the Nine-Item Chinese Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (ChPSQ-9) and the cognitive subscale of the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale (MISS-Cog). Linear mixed effects (LME) models were fitted to identify predictors of patient satisfaction and QoL. Results: Results of LME analyses showed no significant between-group differences in psychosocial, satisfaction, and QoL measures over time (all P > 0.05). Age [beta = -0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.03 to 0.00, P < 0.05] and optimism (beta = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.30, P < 0.001) predicted MISS-Cog and ChPSQ-9, respectively. After adjusting for sociodemographic and psychosocial variables, only ChPSQ-9 (P = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.18, P < 0.001) predicted QoL scores. No significant association between MISS-Cog and QoL was found. Conclusions: General emotional support from health professionals (ChPSQ-9) was a more effective predictor of QoL than was a measure of informational support (MISS-Cog) among these patients. Because expectations of clinical care likely vary by culture, and nature and stage of disease, measures of patient satisfaction that address both informational and care expectations are important.