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Paediatric Perianesthesia questionnaire: development and data from eight hospitals across Germany
J-H Schiff1, N Russ, K Ihringer
1Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Insights
A new questionnaire measures pediatric anesthesia satisfaction. Factors like previous anesthetic issues and who answered influenced scores, with significant differences found between satisfied and dissatisfied patients and across hospitals.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Patient Experience Research
Background:
- Limited data exists on pediatric patient satisfaction with anesthesia care.
- Developing tools to assess this is crucial for improving healthcare quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a comprehensive questionnaire for assessing pediatric anesthesia satisfaction.
- To identify factors influencing satisfaction levels in children and parents.
- To compare satisfaction scores across different hospitals.
Main Methods:
- A rigorous protocol was followed, including pilot testing and qualitative/quantitative analysis.
- A 37-question, five-point Likert scale questionnaire was developed.
- Multivariate analysis was used to identify influencing factors.
Main Results:
- 760 questionnaires were analyzed, with most completed by parents (92.8%).
- Key factors influencing satisfaction included prior anesthetic problems and respondent identity.
- Significant differences in satisfaction were noted regarding privacy, waiting times, information provision, and discomfort.
Conclusions:
- A novel psychometric questionnaire effectively measures pediatric anesthesia satisfaction.
- The questionnaire addresses aspects important to children, parents, and carers.
- Identified significant variations in satisfaction between patient groups and healthcare facilities.
Background:
Opinions about satisfaction with care are rarely obtained from children and few studies of this type exist in the area of paediatric anaesthesia. In this study, we developed a comprehensive self-administered questionnaire to measure the level of paediatric and, as a substitute in younger children, parental satisfaction with anaesthesia. In addition, we aimed to identify factors influencing satisfaction and compare results between hospitals.
Methods:
We followed a rigorous protocol including construction of a pilot questionnaire and qualitative and quantitative analysis. The questionnaire was adapted for confounding variables. We analysed satisfied and dissatisfied groups and compared satisfaction scores between participating hospitals.
Results:
A questionnaire was developed which comprised 37 questions assessed on a five-point Likert scale. With a response rate of 71%, a total of 1052 patients completed the questionnaire. In the final analysis, 760 questionnaires (72%) were included. Most questionnaires were answered by the parents [705 (92.8%)]. The mean age of children was 6.7 (4.97) yr. Multivariate analysis found a history of previous anaesthetic problems and the identity of the person answering the questionnaire as influencing factors on the sum score. The most important differences between satisfied and dissatisfied children were found for the dimensions 'privacy and waiting', 'information giving', and 'discomfort'. Scores differed between hospitals.
Conclusions:
Our psychometric questionnaire provides a novel approach to paediatric patient satisfaction with anaesthesia care and covers areas deemed important by children, parents, and carers. Significant differences between satisfied and dissatisfied groups and between participating hospitals were found.