Preliminary report on the validation of a questionnaire measuring patient satisfaction with services at the sickle cell unit in Jamaica.

OBJECTIVE: Patient satisfaction has become an increasingly important component of quality assessment. This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of a Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire modified for use in the Sickle Cell Unit, Jamaica.
METHODS: A total of 85 persons were interviewed. Construct validity, including exploratory factor analysis and internal reliability were assessed. Data were analysed using SPSS (version 11.5 for Windows) and Intercooled STATA (version 8.2).
RESULTS: The Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire modified for use in the Sickle Cell Unit demonstrated good internal reliability for the 'doctors', 'nurses', 'social worker' and facilities' subscales (Cronbach's alpha > or = 0.70). Exploratory factor analysis revealed only four of the seven 'specific'subscales retaining a single factor, namely the 'nurses', 'facilities', 'appointments'and 'social worker' subscales. Those who attended more frequently gave a statistically significant higher score for facilities' and lower score for 'nurses'. However there was no statistically significant difference in the mean scores by age, gender and genotype. The 'general satisfaction' subscale scores showed a significant positive correlation with scores for 'doctors', 'nurses', 'laboratory'and facilities'and 'appointments'.
CONCLUSION: This preliminary report on the validation of the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire modified for use in the Sickle Cell Unit reveals it has the potential for serving as a useful tool in the assessment of patient satisfaction among sickle cell patients. However further work is necessary on the instrument.