Validation of a questionnaire measuring patient satisfaction with general practitioner services

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Psychometrics
• General Practice

Background:

• Meaningful assessment of patient satisfaction requires valid and reliable measures.
• The Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ) was previously developed.
• This study aimed to validate the PSQ.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the construct validity of the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ).
• To evaluate the internal reliability of the PSQ.
• To confirm the PSQ's utility in measuring patient satisfaction with general practitioner services.

Main Methods:

• 1390 patients from five UK practices completed the PSQ.
• Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess construct validity.
• Internal reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha.

Main Results:

• Confirmatory factor analysis supported a five-factor model (doctors, nurses, access, appointments, facilities).
• High correlations between subscale scores and general satisfaction confirmed construct validity.
• Older patients reported higher satisfaction, further validating the PSQ.
• All subscales and the overall questionnaire demonstrated high internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.74–0.95).

Conclusions:

• The Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ) is a valid and reliable instrument.
• The PSQ effectively assesses patient satisfaction in general practice settings.