[Patient satisfaction with outpatient psychological services]

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychotherapy Research

Background:

• Patient satisfaction is a key indicator of psychological service quality.
• Existing measures may not fully capture patient-derived criteria for satisfaction.
• Validating a new instrument is crucial for assessing service delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a questionnaire measuring patient satisfaction with psychological services.
• To ensure the questionnaire is psychometrically sound and reflects patient-defined satisfaction criteria.
• To provide a tool for demonstrating the process quality of psychological services.

Main Methods:

• Development of a preliminary questionnaire based on patient-generated satisfaction criteria.
• Refinement of the questionnaire into a final version using psychometric criteria.
• Assessment of internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha.
• Exploratory factor analysis to determine the structure of satisfaction.
• Evaluation of congruence validity.

Main Results:

• A validated, one-dimensional patient satisfaction questionnaire was developed.
• High internal consistency was confirmed (Cronbach's alpha = 0.95 and 0.96).
• The satisfaction factor empirically subdivided into 'relationship' and 'treatment outcome' components.
• Preliminary congruence validity data were obtained.

Conclusions:

• The developed questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing patient satisfaction in psychological services.
• The findings support the use of the questionnaire for demonstrating process quality in psychotherapy.
• The instrument's structure highlights the importance of both the therapeutic relationship and treatment outcomes in patient satisfaction.