Client Satisfaction and Staff empathy at Pediatric HIV/AIDS Programs.

This paper examines the relationship of client satisfaction and staff empathy at five pediatric NW/AIDS outpatient clinics in Brooklyn, New York. Client satisfaction is a topic of great interest in health care. It is associated with a variety of health outcomes and has economic, psychological and social benefits. It refers to the extent to which provision of services and interactions with providers gratify client's needs and desires for treatment. Staff empathy may be an important component of client satisfaction. One hundred fifty-eight clients, caretakers or parents, of infected children were interviewed in this investigation. Two staff empathy items were significantly related to client satisfaction even after adjusting for program organization characteristics for e.g., scheduling of appointment times. Staff empathy may influence program utilization, treatment compliance and adherence to life-sustaining medication regimens for NW-infected individuals and is, important to assess in today's managed care environment. This study has implications for staff development and training at HIV/AIDS programs and in other health care settings.