Analysis of appeals of the population of the Nizhny Novgorod region to the territorial health management authority during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction. Appeals of the population are important indicators of the realization of patient rights. Therefore, the Ministry of Health of the Nizhny Novgorod region pays great attention to the analysis of their causes.

The purpose of this study was to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number and reasons for written appeals from the population to the territorial health authority of the Nizhny Novgorod region regarding the medical care provided.

The materials were 37,898 citizens’ appeals over 2019–2021.

Results. The number of written appeals in 2109 was 4916, in 2020 — 14832, in 2021 — 18150. The share of complaints in the structure of appeals decreased from 10,5 ± 0,4% for 2019 to 6,0 ± 0,2% in 2020 and 4,6 ± 0,2% for 2021. Reasons for writing complaints included the quality of medical care (32,9 ± 2,1% during 2019, 34,2 ± 1,6% during 2020, 22,6 ± 1,4% during 2021); refusal to provide medical care (20,5 ± 1,8% in 2019, up to 15,7% ± 1,2% over 2020 and 11,5 ± 1,1% over 2021); violations of ethics and deontology (18,8 ± 1,7% for 2019, 15,8 ± 1,6% for 2020 and 15,3 ± 1,2% for 2021); problems with access to medical care (12,0 ± 1,4% during 2019, 15,2 ± 1,2% during 2020, 19,2 ± 1,4% during 2021 year).

Research limitations. Repeated requests were excluded.

Conclusion. The example of the Nizhny Novgorod region demonstrates the openness of the Ministry of Health, the formation of feedback channels with patients to help to effectively mobilize resources to promptly address issues of providing medical care to the population in an emergency situation.

Compliance with ethical standards. The performing of the scientific research was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the Volga District Medical Center of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency (protocol No. 13 dated 29.12.2023).

Contribution of the authors:
Melik-Guseinov D.V. — research concept and design, collection and processing of material, writing the text;
Romanova T.E. — writing the text, statistical data processing, editing;
Abaeva O.P. — compilation of the list of literature, statistical data processing, registration.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: April 24, 2023 / Revised: November 30, 2023 / Accepted: March 19, 2024 / Published: November 6, 2024