“What are you complaining about?” – Patients’ critique in care encounters and its potential to improve quality of care

How patients’ verbal critique impacts care encounters and can improve care quality and equity is a blind spot in ongoing reforms of formal complaint systems in Sweden and in international research.

This is alarming, given that studies have identified crucial tensions in care encounters where patients take an active role.

Therefore, we aim to study what patients’ verbal critique means in Swedish care encounters and how it can improve care quality and equity.The project applies a qualitative design with an empirical focus on Swedish urology and obstetrics.

Material is collected through qualitative interviews with patients and professionals, and observations of innovative drama workshops in two clinical settings. In parallel, we collect policy documents on complaint management at different organizational levels.

This design enables analyses of patients’ and professionals’ experiences of and expectations on how critique is to be expressed, about what, and how patients’ social position matters.

We also study how patients’ critique is used in quality improvement at the clinic-level and in relation to formal complaint systems.

Ultimately, the project translates its empirical analyses into potential strategies for using patients’ verbal critique in quality improvement at the professional, clinic and policy level.

Doing so is urgent, given rapid changes in patients’ active involvement and significant developments in ongoing reforms of complaint systems in Sweden.