[Outpatient satisfaction in phoniatrics and pedaudiology]

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Patient satisfaction is a key outcome in healthcare, reflecting institutional strengths and weaknesses.
• Evaluating outpatient care requires instruments that consider psychosocial aspects and specific clinical processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a standardized, reliable, and valid questionnaire for assessing outpatient satisfaction in phoniatrics and pedaudiology.
• To incorporate psychosocial factors and specific process elements of ambulatory care into patient satisfaction measurement.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was developed based on stress theory, comprising 89 items and 3 open questions.
• The questionnaire assesses different types of support: practical, appraisal, emotional, informational, and participational.
• A survey was conducted with 91 patients undergoing phoniatrics and pedaudiology ambulatory care.

Main Results:

• The developed questionnaire demonstrated reliability and validity, with satisfactory interclass correlations, Cronbach's alpha, and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficients.
• Quantitative and qualitative findings indicated high patient satisfaction correlated with specific aspects of ambulatory care, including orientation, examination/treatment duration, case history, instruments, and therapy planning.
• The instrument effectively measures outpatient satisfaction, providing detailed insights into patient experiences.

Conclusions:

• Patient satisfaction is a crucial metric for quality assessment and external comparisons in medical institutions.
• A specific, reliable, and valid instrument for phoniatrics and pedaudiology can enhance the evaluation of outpatient care.
• The developed questionnaire offers a balance of specificity and comparability for quality improvement in specialized audiology and speech-language services.