title: Consumer satisfaction in two small rural communities: a quick methodology to empower rural communities to assess their own healthcare needs.
abstract: This study was designed to develop a quick methodology to assess the healthcare needs of a rural community and to determine what factors make these communities 'happy' or 'unhappy' with respect to medical service provision. Two rural shires of approximately 4000 people each were chosen from different health regions of Western Australia. The methodology consisted of interviews with healthcare providers and key community informants as well as a community questionnaire. The interviewing process showed that key community informants offered no new information in addition to that already provided by the healthcare providers. Furthermore, all key points would have been covered by interviewing approximately 60% of all healthcare providers in each community. Hand delivery of the community questionnaire yielded the highest response rate. The level of community satisfaction with general practitioner (GP) and hospital services determines whether a community is medically 'happy' or 'unhappy'.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Woodcock
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Power
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamien
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Waddell
mesh_terms: D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D005194:Family Practice; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006780:Hospitals, Rural; D006801:Humans; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D014904:Western Australia