title: Patient satisfaction in a nurse-led rheumatology clinic.
abstract: Patient satisfaction with a nurse-led rheumatology clinic was tested using the Leeds Satisfaction Questionnaire (LSQ), which was specially developed and shown to be both reliable (Cronbach's alpha, 0.96) and stable (test-re-test r = 0.83). A total of 70 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, aged 22-75 years were randomly allocated to either a nurse's or a rheumatologist's clinic and seen on six occasions over a year. They completed the LSQ on entry and on completion of the study. At week 0 both groups were satisfied with their care and there were no significant differences between them. By week 48 the medical cohort showed significantly increased satisfaction with access and continuity (P < 0.05) but no change in overall satisfaction. The patients in the nurse-led clinic recorded significant increases in overall satisfaction and in all subscales (P < 0.0001). Between-group comparison at week 48 showed the nurse's patients to be significantly more satisfied than those of the rheumatologist.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, University of Leeds, England.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hill
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009718:Nurse Administrators; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D012219:Rheumatology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires