Objective:

To characterize expectations of the primary health care users, and to analyze whether there is a relationship between the fulfillment of the expectations and sociodemographic characteristics, with satisfaction at the end of the appointment.

Methods:

It consisted of an observational longitudinal study, carried out in a primary care center for four weeks. Users who went to a scheduled appointment were asked about their interest in answering an anonymous inquiry. The first page, read and completed before the appointment, consisted of sociodemographic data (age, gender, education), number of appointments in the last year, and expectations present before the appointment. The second page, answered after the appointment, consisted of two questionnaires, one to analyze the expectations fulfilled in the appointment and the other to assess satisfaction with medical care.

Results:

Sixty-five valid inquiries were obtained. It was found that the most frequent expectation before the appointment was to receive information about the results of the auxiliary diagnostic tests, and the most fulfilled expectation was the explanation about the treatment. The degree of satisfaction was 4.2 out of 5 points. It was found that users were more satisfied with the degree of confidentiality and the way he/she was heard. It was observed a greater degree of satisfaction in users with a higher level of education, with a greater number of fulfilled expectations, and with a greater number of actions performed and which were no expectations that the patient took to the appointment.

Conclusion:

It is important to identify the expectations that patients take to the appointment, as users who report a high number of fulfilled expectations have a high level of satisfaction, which can currently be considered as an important indicator of health quality.

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