Factors affecting resident satisfaction with public health service: an empirical test based on the European Social Survey data in five European countries

Although various studies have been conducted on satisfaction with healthcare service, few have explored universal factors that work in multiple countries. Therefore, this study focused on resident satisfaction with public health service and affecting factors in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, and Norway. Considering significant heterogeneity among influencing factors, we constructed a stepwise multiple logistic regression model to investigate relationships between resident satisfaction with public health service and residents’ health status, service expectation, service effectiveness and other individual characteristics. The data was derived from the 7th European Social Survey data in 2014. The study empirically established that 63.45% of surveyed residents across five European countries reported moderate-to-high satisfaction with public health service. Crucially, self-assessed health status (βʹ = 0.0012, p < 0.001), mental health status (βʹ = 0.002, p < 0.01), service expectation (βʹ = 0.0011, p < 0.001), and service availability (βʹ = 0.016, p < 0.001) positively affected public health service satisfaction, whereas international migration negatively affected satisfaction (βʹ = −0.033, p < 0.001). Policymakers in Western welfare countries need to take advantage of these universal influencing factors affecting public health service satisfaction and align the service provision with residents’ reasonable expectation. The satisfaction-driven healthcare system also provides references for the public healthcare reformation in other countries and regions.