Testing equivalence of Spanish and English versions: the LaMonica-Oberst (revised) patient satisfaction with nursing care scale

Despite recent emphasis on outcome measurement and an increasing proportion of Spanish speakers in the United States, most patient satisfaction studies exclude Spanish-speaking participants because Spanish versions of instruments are not available. A Spanish translation of the 15-item LaMonica-Oberst Patient Satisfaction Scale, completed by 64 Spanish-speaking patients living in the northeast and of predominantly Puerto Rican ancestry, produced two factors explaining 86.3% of score variation (alpha=.94 and.58). Evidence for equivalence to the English version and concurrent validity is presented. Generalizability and decision studies indicate that four additional items are needed on the dissatisfaction subscale to attain an acceptable dependability coefficient.