Identifying a Bayesian Network for the Problem “Hospital and Families: The Analysis of Patient Satisfaction with Their Stay in Hospital”

In the evolution of the epidemiological profile of present day communities, the phenomena of “chronicity” and “disability” are more and more important. These phenomena find a natural place for their manifestation and for the research of their solution in the family context. The health of some members, in a family context, proves to be an experience which affects the whole family unit and the more the condition of the individual is one of suffering, the greater the hardship the family finds itself having to face. We can therefore talk of “family hardship” as the adverse condition, perceived by the family in various ways, which directly (e.g. due to the sudden onset of critical events) and/or indirectly (due to structural conditions of the family or the context of family life) prevents the carrying out of the functions necessary for the optimal achievement of expected objectives such as a better quality of life (Bolzan, M., 2002; Pless, I. B., 1984). However, an initial definition of family hardship stands on the three-dimensional level of: i) main family functions; ii) resources the family have at their disposal for the reaching of their own objectives; iii) the system of institutions and services in which the policies and interventions on health and care operate. On this level all the exchanges of relationships — between people united by a history of behaviours and by a dominant culture in which the social unity is linked to other social unities — commonly known as the “social network”, are activated.