A study published in the Journal of Patient Experience, with the participation of the D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), analyzed the perceptions of over 47,000 healthcare professionals on institutional efforts to improve patient experience in private hospitals in Brazil. The research indicated that engaging care teams remains the biggest challenge for concrete improvements in the quality of care.
What Healthcare Professionals Think About Patient Experience
Patient experience, understood as how patients and their families perceive the care they receive, has gained prominence as a quality indicator in healthcare. However, while research often prioritizes the patient's perspective, this study focused on the other side of the relationship: the professionals who provide that care. Doctors, nurses, technicians, and other healthcare workers were asked to assess how they perceive the development of actions aimed at improving the patient experience in their workplaces.
Data collection was conducted through a validated, anonymous, online questionnaire administered between January and February 2024. A total of 47,711 healthcare professionals from 69 private hospitals across four regions of the country participated. Of this total, 13% were doctors, 54% were in nursing, and the rest belonged to other categories of the multidisciplinary team, such as physical therapists, psychologists, pharmacists, support technicians, and administrative professionals.
The questionnaire addressed six major areas related to patient experience: leadership and governance, infrastructure and access, care team involvement, patient and family participation, evaluation policies, and clinical quality. Each dimension received an average score and was classified according to its stage of development within the hospitals. The scale used ranged from "just starting" to "in progress" or "consolidated."
Results Indicate Moderate Progress, But a Still-Fragile Link
According to the results, all dimensions evaluated by the professionals were classified as "in progress," meaning that hospitals have ongoing initiatives but still face difficulties in achieving consistent results. The exception was "team and professional engagement," which scored lower than the other categories and was classified as "just starting." This suggests that healthcare workers feel there is a lack of structured and effective actions to involve them in care improvements.
The responses also revealed important differences between professional groups. Although everyone evaluated the same aspects of the hospital system, doctors gave higher average scores than nursing professionals, indicating a more positive perception of the institutions' efforts. The overall average for doctors was 147 points, while for nursing it was 138. This difference may reflect how different categories experience working conditions and whether they feel heard or valued in decision-making.
On the other hand, factors such as professional experience or time at the hospital did not significantly influence the evaluations. Professionals with less than a year of experience or training gave similar scores to those with more experience, suggesting that the perception of patient experience challenges is not limited to seniority but is instead tied to the organizational environment as a whole.
Practical Importance: Investing in Teams to Provide Better Patient Care
The main finding of the study is that promoting a good experience for patients must, by necessity, include promoting a good experience for healthcare professionals. This means it's not just about training to improve communication with patients or renovating physical structures, but also about ensuring that workers have proper conditions, are heard, are recognized, and are included in institutional strategies.
The evidence indicates that engaged leadership and healthy work environments are directly related to a lower incidence of errors, better teamwork, and greater patient satisfaction. Valuing teams is not just a humanitarian measure, but an effective strategy for quality management.
Written by Maria Eduarda Ledo de Abreu.
Journal
Journal of Patient Experience