The voice of Primary Care patients in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region of Portugal.

This article was the result of a study aimed at determining the degree of user satisfaction with the care provided in the 125 Family Health Units (Unidades de Saúde Familiar - USF) and in some of the 127 Personalized Health Care Units (Unidades de Cuidados de Saúde Personalizados - UCSP) of the Region of Lisbon and Tagus Valley (LVT). A total of 20,118 questionnaires were distributed and 16,965 received (89.0% response rate). The data collection instrument used was the Europep questionnaire, essentially measuring four dimensions: medical care, non-medical care, organization of care and quality of premises. 65.3% of the respondents were women, the average age was 50.8 years, 35% had a maximum of six years of schooling, and to 5.2% this had been their first contact. There was an overall average satisfaction of 77.4%, higher in what regards the care and attention provided by professionals. Women had slightly lower satisfaction than men, the same as for the younger compared to the older ones. Those with less literacy were the ones that presented better satisfaction rates. USF had always more satisfaction than the UCSP, and models B a satisfaction greater than models A. Users penalize units with more than 12 GP and there was a great regional disparity.