Institutional Response and Public Sentiment: A Study on Patients' and Attendants' Attitudes Towards Pandemic-Era Healthcare Delivery

Abstract

COVID-19 highlighted, and transformed, the relationship between the health-care system and the community it serves, with a strain on hospital systems like never before and a changing perception in patients and their care partners about the quality, safety and humanity of care delivery. The study explores the institutional response mechanisms implemented during the pandemic and how they relate to patients and attendants' sentiment and satisfaction in public, private and community healthcare facilities. The design of the study is a cross sectional survey, and the responses were structured and gathered from 420 respondents (246 patients and 174 attendants) at five categories of healthcare facilities using a validated instrument (Likert scale 1 – 5) with open ended sentiment items. There was a triangulation between quantitative sentiment scoring and thematic coding of the respondents' free text answers. The results showed that institutional responsiveness, clarity of communication, and the perceived sense of safety provided the greatest positive correlations (r = 0.67, r = 0.71, and r = 0.64, respectively), while waiting time and redressal of grievances were consistently negative mean ratings (M = 2.98, SD = 0.79 and M = 3.02, SD = 0.75). Sentiment experienced significant swings throughout pandemic stages, with the lowest sentiment during the peak surge (22% positive) and partially recovering during the late phase (47% positive). Higher satisfaction with communication was reported by attendants as compared to that reported by patients, while patients were more satisfied with infection-control measures. These results indicate that institutional agility in communication and infection control also significantly prevents negative sentiment even in the most extreme systemic stress, and provide practical recommendations to improve patient-centred crisis governance in future public health crises.