Development and application of a questionnaire for assessing parent satisfaction with care.

OBJECTIVE: The development and application of a questionnaire that eventually could be used as a management tool and a means of promoting the quality of care provided in 'P. & A. Kyriakou' Children's Hospital. DESIGN: Parents' survey; during treatment of their children. SETTING: 'P. & A. Kyriakou' Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece. PARTICIPANTS: Sample of 240 parents. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Parent satisfaction. RESULTS: The most important finding of the study, although normative statements cannot be made, appears to be signalling of low satisfaction with care. The general mean observed (45 on a scale of 100) is not close to the mean (76) derived from a systematic review of 221 satisfaction studies. Moreover, satisfaction appears to be very low (14/100) for the procedures of the hospital, low for the outpatient dimension (42/100) and rather satisfactory for the inpatient dimension (61/100). CONCLUSION: Data-based feedback as a management tool has been associated with improved organizational functioning. However, systematic use of this intervention within Greek hospitals has been limited. Therefore, the next phase of the project will be used as feedback to the Governing Board and the personnel of the hospital. Finally, a study will be planned to investigate the effects of implementing changes based on parents' ratings of staff performance.