The Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire (GS-PEQ): identification of core items from a survey in Norway

Abstract

BackgroundQuestionnaires are commonly used to collect patient, or user, experiences with health care encounters; however, their adaption to specific target groups limits comparison between groups. We present the construction of a generic questionnaire (maximum of ten questions) for user evaluation across a range of health care services.MethodsBased on previous testing of six group-specific questionnaires, we first constructed a generic questionnaire with 23 items related to user experiences. All questions included a "not applicable" response option, as well as a follow-up question about the item's importance. Nine user groups from one health trust were surveyed. Seven groups received questionnaires by mail and two by personal distribution. Selection of core questions was based on three criteria: applicability (proportion "not applicable"), importance (mean scores on follow-up questions), and comprehensiveness (content coverage, maximum two items per dimension).Results1324 questionnaires were returned providing subsample sizes ranging from 52 to 323. Ten questions were excluded because the proportion of "not applicable" responses exceeded 20% in at least one user group. The number of remaining items was reduced to ten by applying the two other criteria. The final short questionnaire included items on outcome (2), clinician services (2), user involvement (2), incorrect treatment (1), information (1), organisation (1), and accessibility (1).ConclusionThe Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire (GS-PEQ) is a short, generic set of questions on user experiences with specialist health care that covers important topics for a range of groups. It can be used alone or with other instruments in quality assessment or in research. The psychometric properties and the relevance of the GS-PEQ in other health care settings and countries need further evaluation.

Satisfaction measurement instruments for healthcare service users: a systematic review

“…Only three studies showed a unidimensional structure for the tested instrument 22,32,48 . However, there is not a clear pattern of what the essential dimensions (factors) that must be included in a satisfaction measurement are.…”

“…It was also possible to observe a trend showing that more than one dimension should be used to develop or adapt an instrument ( Table 1). The main dimensions were: patient-healthcare professional interactions, physical environment and internal management process 22,23,32,48 . Only services with some different characteristics (home care, out-of-hours, psychiatric and pediatric services, and more multidisciplinary complex services) usually utilized other specific dimensions 22,23,49 .…”

What is Good Quality of Health Care?

“…This study also showed that certain aspects varied between the groups (Sjetne, Bjertnaes, Olsen, Iversen, & Bukholm, 2011). Consequently, the European and Norwegian studies show that there is no universal definition of quality criteria, even from the patient or population perspective.…”

Evaluation of Patient Satisfaction and Factors Affecting It: A Review of the Literature

“…In the competitive world of health care, importance of patient satisfaction and his quality of life is increasingly considered [3]. The importance of this issue in the health care system is getting more because experience of illness and the need for compliance and follow-up treatment and care process increase patients' vulnerability and their need to comprehensive support [4]. In addition, satisfaction is one of the aspects of individuals' health and if health system does not pay attention to patient satisfaction, it has acted contrary to its mission which is responding needs of people for health [4].…”

“…The importance of this issue in the health care system is getting more because experience of illness and the need for compliance and follow-up treatment and care process increase patients' vulnerability and their need to comprehensive support [4]. In addition, satisfaction is one of the aspects of individuals' health and if health system does not pay attention to patient satisfaction, it has acted contrary to its mission which is responding needs of people for health [4]. Satisfaction is the outcome a complex set of different factors and in order to achieve that it is necessary to coordinated various aspects of services such as nursing, medicine, support and various organizational sections in some way and with full respect for patients' rights in all aspects, create appropriate conditions for its improvement [4].…”