Refinement and validation of a French in-patient experience questionnaire

The objective of this study was to check psychometric properties of a French-language in-patient experience questionnaire in a test sample different from the development sample. The questionnaire was sent out to 5,736 in-patients, within two to four weeks of discharge from a teaching hospital of 2,200 beds. Overall 4,095 questionnaires (71.4 per cent) were returned. Of these, 3,879 questionnaires were analyzed. In principal component analysis, seven principal components accounted for 62.4 per cent of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.62 to 0.90, with the exception of the seventh scale (convenience scale, two items, Cronbach = 0.39). The overall patient experience score increased with increasing patient age (except for patients older than 65), male sex, low education level, use of a single room, and prior stay in the department. It also differed with respect to patients' behavioral intentions, answers to an overall satisfaction item, and open-ended comments.