Impact of child health centre organization on parental satisfaction

The aim of this study is to describe differences in parental satisfaction with child health services under different organizational arrangements. The study had a cross-sectional design and was based on 3 largely identical surveys, involving 60 questions, performed in 1970, 1988 and 1993. The original questionnaire was developed by one of the authors in 1970. The present study analyses responses to 5 demographic questions and 12 questions regarding the content of child health services, evaluating parental satisfaction with these services. The study population in 1970 consisted of 443 parents (93% of those invited to participate) with children 6-18 months old, 1008 (82%) in 1988 and 1071 (80%) in 1993. Parents expressed more satisfaction with child health services in 1970 and 1993 compared to 1988. This pattern is not attributable to macro-level societal changes, but corresponds to changes in the organization of child health care services over the study period. The results highlight the vital question of how child health care should be organized in order to satisfy parents. The quality of child health care and parental satisfaction depend in part on the style of organization, including how much nurses with 'first-line' contacts focus on paediatric services.