Examining the physical structure of hospitals of Kashan university of Medical Sciences based on elderly-friendly criteria and the elderly's satisfaction

Older adults are one of the large groups that use hospitals and have a longer hospitalization period than other age groups. The study aimed to examining the physical structure of hospitals affiliated to Kashan university of Medical Sciences based on elderly-friendly hospitals and the elderly's satisfaction.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on hospitals affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences (Shaheed Beheshti, Matini, and Naqvi) and 700 older adults who were referred to these hospitals, 1401. Data were collected using a checklist and a researcher-made questionnaire in two stages. The census sampling was for hospitals and Sequential for older adults. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in statistical Software SPSS version16.

The mean score of the hospital structure was in a relatively good range (42.3±1.52) with a score range of 0 to 72 and the mean score satisfaction of the elderly was 24.6±3.8 with a range of 0 to 45. There was a statistically significant difference in the satisfaction of the elderly with the physical structure of hospitals based on the type of hospital and its services (P<0.001).

The physical structure of hospitals affiliated to Kashan university of Medical Sciences was in a relatively good range, and the satisfaction of the elderly was average, also. Therefore, they should be modified based on the criteria of the elderly-friendly hospital to increase the satisfaction of older adults, especially the eldest, and to prevent their possible injuries.