Patient satisfaction: how do qualitative comments relate to quantitative scores on a satisfaction survey?

This study was designed to determine whether there are differences in how patients quantitatively rate their inpatient service in a given section of a patient satisfaction survey based on the types of qualitative comments they make about that given section.

The population under study was patients discharged from The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University from April 1 to June 30, 2006. A sample of 1468 questionnaires was mailed. A total of 446 completed questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 30%, and 1068 comments were offered by the respondents.

An analysis of variance determined statistically significant differences between the ratings and the comment types in all 10 sections of the survey. A Bonferroni post hoc test revealed that the scale ratings were higher for patients who made positive comments than for patients who made negative comments for 8 of the 10 survey sections. A positive comment produced a higher mean score than did a negative comment.

The study results offer empirical evidence that there are differences in how patients quantitatively rate the services received in a hospital based on patient comment types. Hospital staff interpreting patient satisfaction survey results could say that negative comments produce lower quantitative ratings than do positive comments.