Care Continuity Experience and Patient Comfort in Renal Treatment Services

Abstract

This study evaluated care continuity experience and patient comfort in renal treatment services in Santiago City. It used a patient-reported cross-sectional structural modeling design to determine the level of care continuity experience, the level of patient comfort, and the predictive effect of care continuity experience on patient comfort. Participants were renal treatment patients selected through purposive criterion sampling with interval-assisted recruitment. Data were gathered using a validated researcher-developed questionnaire that measured relational consistency, clarity of treatment information, coordination of schedules and follow-ups, responsiveness to patient concerns, consistency of care instructions, physical ease, emotional reassurance, environmental comfort, procedural confidence, and dignity and privacy. The instrument demonstrated strong content validity and excellent reliability. Descriptive statistics, partial least squares structural equation modeling, bootstrapping, and importance-performance map analysis were used for data analysis. Results showed that patients reported a high level of care continuity experience and patient comfort. However, coordination of schedules and follow-ups emerged as the weakest care continuity dimension, while physical ease during treatment obtained the lowest comfort rating. The structural model showed that care continuity experience significantly and positively influenced patient comfort, explaining 46.4 percent of its variance. Responsiveness to patient concerns and coordination of schedules and follow-ups were identified as priority improvement areas. The findings suggest that patient comfort in renal treatment services is shaped not only by clinical procedures but also by consistent communication, responsive support, and organized follow-through across treatment encounters.