Satisfaction in Mental Health Care: Examining Psychometric Properties of Experience of Service Questionnaire in a Turkish Population

Abstract

Objective: Measuring satisfcation with psychological health services is important in clinical settings in order to evaluate the benefits of treatment. Past research has shown that relationship with clinician is at the core of satisfaction reports. However, measurement tools focusing on patients’ psyhcological health care experiences are rather scarce. The objective of this study is to adapt the Experience of Service Questionnaire (ESQ) Parent form and examine its psychometric properties in a Turkish population. Method: ESQ Parent form was translated into Turkish and was presented to parents (N = 242) of children who have completed their treatment in a university’s psychological counseling center. Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was also gathered from parents pre- and post-treatment in order to measure symptomatic gains and investigate their associations with satisfaction with treatment. Results: Factor analysis revealed a two-factor solution (‘Care’ and ‘Environment’) similar to questionnaire’s original structure. In addition, discriminant validity results showed that participants showing higher therapeutic gains (as measured by CBCL) show significantly higher satisfaction in ESQ. Conclusions: This study is the first to measure satisfaction in psychological health care settings in Turkey, and therefore aims to contribute to a gap in the field. Results indicate a significant association between treatment outcome and satisfaction levels. Also, adapted measurement tool demonstrates adquate reliability and validity scores supporting it’s use in clinical settings.