Patient Satisfaction with a deglutition assessment procedure: cross-sectional study

Introduction: oropharyngeal dysphagia has a high prevalence worldwide. Elderly people are more likely to develop dysphagia, especially those who have had a stroke. Dysphagia increases the risk of aspiration pneumonia and mortality after stroke by 4 times. At the Professor Doutor Fernando Fonseca Hospital of the Amadora-Sintra Local Health Unit, the Volume-Viscosity Clinical Exploration Method is used to assess swallow early. Objective: to assess the level of satisfaction among patients diagnosed with stroke, admitted to the Adult Emergency Department and the Neurology Service at this hospital, regarding the execution of the deglutition assessment procedure. Method: this is a cross-sectional study. A specific questionnaire was created for patients to respond to. Data were collected between March 5 and September 5, 2024. Quantitative data analysis was performed. Results: the average age of the patients was 62,52 years, with 63,46 % female. Out of 11 questions, 10 had higher than 84 % of positive responses. 96,15 % of patients reported satisfaction with the Nurse’s care. Patients highlighted the importance of efficient communication from the Nurse, ensuring their privacy and receiving information about the benefits of deglutition assessment. These findings are present in other studies on patient satisfaction. Conclusions: patients expressed satisfaction with the execution of the procedure, as they considered it to contribute to their adaptation to a new life condition.