Satisfaction with care in peritoneal dialysis patients

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Patient satisfaction is a crucial, yet under-evaluated, component of dialysis care.
• Assessing patient satisfaction provides insights into the quality of care delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a tool, the Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), for quantifying patient satisfaction in peritoneal dialysis (PD).
• To evaluate the reliability and validity of the CSQ in a real-world clinical setting.

Main Methods:

• The study involved 133 end-stage renal disease patients undergoing PD for over 3 months.
• Interviews were conducted in Hungarian Fresenius Medical Care centers using the CSQ, which covered administrative issues, delivery, training, requests, and transportation.
• CSQ results were correlated with psychosocial measures (social support, illness burden, depression) and quality of life (QOL).
• Internal consistency, validity, and factor analysis were used to assess the CSQ.

Main Results:

• The CSQ demonstrated high internal consistency and reliability.
• Patients reported high satisfaction with customer service in PD.
• PD patient satisfaction scores positively correlated with QOL and social support.
• No significant correlation was found between patient satisfaction and medical factors, demographics, or depressive affect.

Conclusions:

• The CSQ is a reliable instrument for measuring PD patient satisfaction.
• Patient satisfaction in PD is significantly associated with perceived quality of life.
• Enhancing customer satisfaction may lead to improvements in both the quantity and quality of life for PD patients.