چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background:The aim here was to explore trends in patient satisfaction with primary health care and its accessibility
and continuity, and to explore whether through reforms and improvements some of the essential goals had been
achieved over a 14-year period of time in Finland.
Methods:Nine questionnaire surveys were conducted over a period of 14 years among patients attending within one
week in the 65 health centres in the Tampere University Hospital catchment area. A total of 147,394 responded out of a
sample of 333,648 patients. The response rate varied yearly from 53% to 37%.
Results:Patient satisfaction with care in Finnish health centres decreased by nearly 9 percentage units from 1998 to
2011. The fall-off was most marked in the age-group over 64 years. There was a 20 percentage unit’s reduction in ease
of access as reported by patients. Respondents also reported that the continuity of care had deteriorated.
Conclusions:Despite major reforms in Finnish health care policy,patients seem to be less satisfied. Our findings
challenge both Finnish authorities and GPs to improve the accessibility and continuity of care in primary health services.