Complaints on health services: a survey of persons with disabilities

This study examined the extent to which people with disabilities express their voice and present complaints about the quality of health services, and how their complaints are submitted, compared to non-disabled persons. Data were collected via two national surveys from 243 people with disabilities and 956 non-disabled respondents in Israel who perceived themselves to be aggrieved by their health provider. People with disabilities complained only slightly more often than non-disabled, and the majority of complaints were submitted locally and informally by both groups. Since people with disabilities use health services more frequently than non-disabled persons, the fact that a majority of customers with disabilities remain silent causes the health system to lose important information regarding areas for redress or for service recovery. The results have implications for needed actions by health providers and outreach efforts by advocacy groups, and for further policy and research directions that can improve the quality of health services to people with disabilities.