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14 Jan 2011

Feasibility Study Released on RSBY Beneficiary Experience Survey

Westat India has recently released the findings of a feasibility study of the Rashtriya Swastya Bima Yojana (RSBY) Beneficiary Experience Survey. The survey, which was conducted in October 2010 in 20 RSBY empanelled hospitals in Haryana, evaluated beneficiaries' assessment of the quality of care received at RSBY hospitals. The feasibility study assessed the viability of such a survey and examined how best to conduct such research on a larger scale.

Westat India researchers found that the feasibility study:

• Demonstrated that the research process can work well and
• Provided insights on how best to conduct the research.

Because this study had a small convenience sample, the data collected are not generalisable to Haryana or beyond.

The RSBY Beneficiary Experience Survey is an adaptation of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospital Survey. CAHPS surveys are scientifically tested assessment tools that measure consumer experience with health care.

A family of CAHPS surveys has been developed for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Westat has supported AHRQ in developing CAHPS surveys for more than 10 years. To ensure cultural and contextual relevance, CAHPS was further adapted to reflect the Indian health care delivery model and the RSBY context.

The RSBY Beneficiary Experience Survey collected data on

• Patient interactions with their health care providers,
• Patient satisfaction with how they were treated, and
• Patient assessment of the hospital environment.

The data collected can help the Government of India and RSBY hospitals better understand the level of patient care provided, compare and report on performance, and improve the quality of care provided to families.

The hospitals in the feasibility study represented urban and rural areas with a mix of small and large hospitals in Haryana. The study included a randomly selected convenience sample of 78 RSBY and non-RSBY patients. While the focus of the survey was to learn about the experiences of RSBY patients, including a comparison of non-RSBY patients was useful to gauge the relative satisfaction of RSBY patients who represent a socioeconomically homogeneous group.

For the feasibility study, professional data collectors interviewed patients in Hindi at the RSBY hospital where they received treatment. Patients were either at mid-treatment or at the point of discharge. Though the data collected are not generalisable, the following findings were observed.

• Virtually all (97%) RSBY patients receiving care in a hospital reported that they decided to get treatment for their conditions or sickness because they had an RSBY Smart Card.
• Satisfaction ratings on the RSBY Beneficiary Experience Survey were extremely high, with the majority of RSBY patients reporting being very satisfied with their treatment (89%), the hospital staff (95%), and the hospital environment (95%).
• On average, RSBY patients reported waiting 45 minutes from the time they checked in at the RSBY information desk to the time they were admitted and advised of their treatment plan.
• 71% of RSBY patients surveyed felt that nurses always talked to them respectfully.
• 68% reported that nurses always treated them with dignity.
• 64% indicated that they were usually or always told what medications were for.

The RSBY Beneficiary Experience Survey was made possible by support and assistance received from Dr. Sarna at ESI Health Care, Haryana; Mr. Anil Swarup, Ministry of Labour-Government of India; Dr. Nishant Jain, GTZ; and the RSBY nodal officers in Haryana.

The RSBY Beneficiary Experience Survey design, data analysis, and report were prepared by Westat India. Data collection in Haryana was conducted by Westat's partner, SynchroServe.

For more information:

• RSBY Beneficiary Experience Survey: Summary of Findings from the Feasibility Study (page in PDF format)
• Rashtriya Swastya Bima Yojana (RSBY) Beneficiary Experience Survey (external link)
• Westat India: contactus@westat.in (email link)