title: Consumer satisfaction with CMHC services.
abstract: To examine the relationship between consumer satisfaction with community mental health clinic (CMHC) services and patterns of outpatient service use, we conducted a survey of 210 schizophrenics in Mississippi, the majority of whom were African American. Subjects with lowest CMHC satisfaction were those who did not identify the CMHC as their primary source of outpatient mental health care. They were more likely to be white, single, and to either receive no outpatient mental health care (46%) or to seek care from sources other than the CMHC (54%), many of which might provide substandard care, such as family doctors, ministers, folk healers, or hospital emergency rooms. Among those who identified the CMHC as their primary source of mental health care, we found little evidence that satisfaction was associated with type, variety, or frequency of services. Even though clinics offered similar services, there were differences in consumer satisfaction ratings by clinics, suggesting that qualities of the clinic itself may influence consumer satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: RAND, Santa Monica, CA 90407, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Spritzer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008922:Mississippi; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010359:Patient Readmission; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012008:Recurrence; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology