Validation of satisfaction questionnaire for outpatient neurology services of a tertiary hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a facility based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Patient satisfaction questionnaires are the commonly used patient satisfaction measure, and may be global or multidimensional in focus. Global patient satisfaction consists of overall patient satisfaction while multidimensional patient satisfaction has multiple items focusing on different dimensions of the healthcare.
Objective: To develop reliable and valid patient satisfaction questionnaire for an outpatient neurology services in Ethiopia.
Methods: A facility based cross-sectional study was employed to assess patient satisfaction from Outpatient Neurology Clinic (ONC) of Zewditu Memorial Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from August to October, 2009. A total of 193 consecutive patients that had a follow up in the ONC during the ten weeks period were invited and included in the study. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 15. Factor analysis was used to describe the structure of the multidimensional patient satisfaction questionnaire for reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) and validity.
Results: Of the 193 patients enrolled, 176 of them completed the study making the response rate 91.2%. Exploratory factor analysis identified three distinct subscales (waiting time, accessibility and physician services) in the patient satisfaction questionnaire which accounted for 84.1% of the total variance. All subscale Cronbach’s alpha values were more than 0.80. Analyses of the content, criterion and construct validity yielded complimentary evidences for the overall validity of the patient satisfaction questionnaire.
Conclusion: The instrument used in the study is psychometrically good for the measurement of patient satisfaction in the Outpatient Neurology Clinic.

Keywords: Questionnaire validation; patient satisfaction; outpatient neurology services, Ethiopia.