Patient Satisfaction in Comprehensive Program for HIV/AIDS at La Clínica de Familia La Romana

Oliver Piltch, VP&S Class of 2025

Name: Oliver Piltch
School: Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, Class of 2025
Mentor: Michael Yin, MD, MS and Luz Messina

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Abstract

We attempted to answer the question: How satisfied are patients with HIV who use “Servicio de Atención Integral (SAI),” a multidisciplinary service offered to approximately 2500 patients by Clínica de Familia in La Romana, Dominican Republic that connects patients with HIV to social workers, doctors, psychologists, and other resources. The SAI program also offers (to approximately 400 vulnerable patients) additional support with case management, home visits by health promoters, and other services; we surveyed 19 of these patients. Other patients in the clinic receiving other services have already been surveyed in a similar manner, but patients who are receiving care through the SAI program had not yet been surveyed. We designed and administered a 35-question survey including demographic questions, Likert-scale questions about their experiences in most areas of the clinic (e.g., doctor’s office, pharmacy, laboratory), and open-ended questions about general satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Preliminary results of the Likert data show that all respondents had positive or very positive experiences with regards to almost all dimensions of all clinic services surveyed; however, almost half (47.4%) reported feeling discriminated against at some point in the clinic, one did not feel their wait time was reasonable, and one of the thirteen who saw social services did not feel they had found solutions. Follow-up surveys are needed to characterize the source(s) (e.g., specific clinic areas, misunderstanding the survey question) of negative experiences (e.g., feeling discriminated against, unreasonable wait times, unresolved social issues) and otherwise universally positive reviews. Future surveys should also include non-Spanish-speaking, SAI patients.