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Children's conceptualization of the term 'satisfaction': relevance for measuring health outcomes
R L Taylor1, T Olds, K Boshoff
1Health and Use of Time (HUT) Group, School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia. rebecca.taylor@anu.edu.au
Insights
Children aged 10-15 conceptualize satisfaction through comparisons, emotions, or feedback, but not always integrating them. This highlights potential misinterpretations when measuring health outcomes in pediatric care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health Outcomes Measurement
- Child Psychology
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Accurate measurement of health outcomes is crucial for effective pediatric healthcare planning and evaluation.
- Child satisfaction with participation in daily activities is a key outcome measure.
- Understanding how children conceptualize satisfaction is essential for developing reliable assessment tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how children aged 10-15 conceptualize the term 'satisfaction'.
- To compare children's understanding of satisfaction with existing literature definitions.
- To inform the development of appropriate methods for assessing satisfaction in children.
Main Methods:
- Descriptive qualitative approach using eight focus groups with 40 children (aged 10-15).
- Exclusion of children with disabilities to first understand conceptualization in typically developing children.
- Qualitative content analysis of focus group data.
Main Results:
- Children conceptualize satisfaction through three distinct methods: comparison, emotional evaluation, and external feedback.
- Participants tended to use one method in isolation rather than integrating multiple sources for a satisfaction judgment.
- A notable confusion was observed between the terms 'satisfaction' and 'satisfactory' among participants.
Conclusions:
- Partial alignment exists between children's conceptualization of satisfaction and literature definitions.
- Not all children aged 10-15 possess a complete understanding of satisfaction, necessitating caution in assessments.
- Further research is needed to explore satisfaction conceptualization in children with disabilities.
Background:
Health outcomes measurement is integral to planning and evaluating paediatric health care. Recent outcome measures have been developed to capture children's participation in everyday activities, a core component of which is the child's perceived satisfaction. Satisfaction, however, is a complex concept and it is not known how children conceptualize satisfaction and hence how it should best be measured. The purpose of this study was to explore children's conceptualization of the term 'satisfaction' and compare this with the description of satisfaction given in the literature to inform how satisfaction can be assessed in children.
Methods:
Forty children aged between 10 and 15 years participated in eight focus groups, guided by a descriptive qualitative approach, to describe how they conceptualize 'satisfaction'. Children with disabilities were excluded as it was considered important to first ascertain how children without disabilities conceptualize satisfaction. Recruitment occurred through seven urban and rural public schools. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.
Results:
Participants identified three methods by which a person may determine their level of satisfaction (i) making comparisons with previous experiences, and other's and self-expectations; (ii) evaluating one's emotions; and (iii) receiving positive external feedback. Participants described drawing upon one of these methods in isolation, rather than integrating outcomes from each method into one judgement of satisfaction. Participants also demonstrated confusion between the terms 'satisfaction' and 'satisfactory'.
Conclusions:
Partial congruence between children's conceptualization of satisfaction and that reported in the literature was observed in this study. Not all children between the ages of 10 and 15, however, have a full understanding of satisfaction. Caution must therefore be taken when using the term satisfaction in children's assessments to minimize the potential for varying interpretations of the question. Further studies are required to explore how children with disabilities view the term satisfaction and if their understanding differs to that of typically developing children.
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