Validating a patient satisfaction survey translated into Spanish

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Patient Experience Measurement
• Cross-cultural Adaptation of Instruments

Background:

• Patient satisfaction is a key indicator of healthcare quality.
• Measuring patient satisfaction across diverse linguistic groups is crucial for equitable care.
• Existing satisfaction measures may not be culturally or linguistically appropriate for all populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate a patient satisfaction survey in Spanish for inpatient care.
• To assess the reliability and factor structure of the Spanish version.
• To compare satisfaction levels between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking patient groups.

Main Methods:

• Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of an existing English-language patient satisfaction survey into Spanish.
• Reliability testing (subscale and overall) of the Spanish version.
• Comparative analysis of satisfaction scores between English and Spanish respondents.

Main Results:

• The Spanish translation demonstrated equivalent factor structure to the English original.
• The survey was reliable at both subscale and overall levels for Spanish-language respondents.
• Spanish-language respondents reported higher satisfaction in most areas, except for staff courtesy.
• The Spanish survey explained 81% of the variance in likelihood to recommend.

Conclusions:

• The validated Spanish survey is a reliable tool for assessing inpatient care satisfaction among Spanish speakers.
• Linguistic validation ensures accurate measurement of patient experience across diverse populations.
• Identified differences in satisfaction highlight areas for targeted quality improvement initiatives.