Comparison of patient satisfaction with community-based vs. hospital psychiatric services.
OBJECTIVE
Previous work suggests that psychiatric patients are more satisfied with community-based than with hospital-based services, but it is not clear how far these findings can be generalized to routine services. The aim of this study was to compare the satisfaction of patients with psychosis between a hospital-based service in London, UK and a community-based service in Verona, Italy.


METHODS
The Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS) was used to measure satisfaction among patients with psychosis in Nunhead (London) and South Verona.


RESULTS
Satisfaction across all dimensions was higher in South Verona than in Nunhead. Sociodemographic and service use differences between the two groups were insufficient to explain this difference.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that experimental findings that patients prefer community-based to hospital psychiatric services can be generalized to routine services.
Henderson
C
C
Psychiatric Research in Service Measurement, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
Phelan
M
M
Loftus
L
L
Dall'Agnola
R
R
Ruggeri
M
M
D000328:Adult; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D006113:United Kingdom