Relationship of depression to patient satisfaction: findings from the barriers to breast cancer study

Objective: Examine the association between depressive symptoms and patient satisfaction for older women with a diagnosis of breast cancer. Methods: Prospective study of 210 women aged 65 or older from southeast Texas newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Baseline (<2 months after diagnosis) and 12 month follow-up interviews were conducted face-to-face to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics, physical and emotional health, use of health services and satisfaction with medical care. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, χ2 analysis, and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: Average age at baseline interview was 71.8 years (SD 6.6). The sample was 70.5% non-Hispanic white, 61.0% were unmarried, and 85.2% reported no ADL limitations. Logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between increasing depressive symptoms at baseline and lower patient satisfaction at follow-up. Each unit increase in depressive symptoms at baseline was associated with a 6% decrease in the predicted odds of being “very satisfied” with medical care at follow up (OR=0.94, 95% CI=0.89, 0.99), after adjusting for age, marital status, race/ethnicity, stage of diagnosis and other relevant factors. Similarly, patients who had an increase in CES-D score between baseline and follow-up interview were less likely to be satisfied with their medical care at follow up. Conclusion: Increasing depressive symptoms are associated with lower patient satisfaction. Early recognition and treatment of depressive symptoms may improve patients’ well being and perception about quality of medical care.