This study was aimed at evaluating the humanization of hospital care ethnically, as perceived by the hospitalized patients. Data were collected from 13 inpatients from January to July/2005 in a public hospital in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, according to the patient's circuit. This analysis yielded the following categories: ethnic evaluation of the hospital structure and dynamics, hospital and professional image, human and technical competence. The subjects used multiple aspects to soften their opinions, unveiling factors named mediators of the ethnical evaluation. Such aspects were categorized into: conditions of the interview, socio-economic status, user's personality and religiousness, ironic speech, somber diagnosis and necessities met, and prior hospitalization experiences. The elements revealed by the patients are significant in order to encourage professionals and mediators to mobilize towards humanizing changes, including the user as a social and critical ethnic evaluator.
Anthropology, cultural; Hospitalization; Humanization of assistance; Patient satisfaction