Development, internal consistency and reliability of the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale--European Version. EPSILON Study 7. European Psychiatric Services: Inputs Linked to Outcome Domains and Needs.
BACKGROUND
Satisfaction with mental health services is an important quality and outcome variable. The Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS) is a well-established method for measuring service satisfaction.


OBJECTIVE
To report the development and reliability study of the European Version of the VSSS (VSSS-EU).


METHODS
A sample of people with schizophrenia on the case-load of local mental health services in the five European participating countries was assessed. The VSSS-EU was administered at one site in each country at two points in time. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were assessed and compared between the five sites.


RESULTS
The alpha coefficient for the VSSS-EU total score in the pooled sample was 0.96 (95% CI 0.94-0.97) and ranged from 0.92 (95% CI 0.60-1.00) to 0.96 (95% CI 0.93-0.98) across the sites. Test-retest reliability for VSSS-EU total score, pooled over sites, was 0.82 (95% CI 0.78-0.85) and ranged from 0.73 (95% CI 0.6-0.86) to 0.93 (95% CI 0.89-0.97) across the sites.


CONCLUSIONS
VSSS-EU is a reliable instrument for measuring service satisfaction in people with schizophrenia, for use in comparative cross-national research projects and in routine clinical practice in mental health services across Europe.
Ruggeri
M
M
Department of Medicine and Public Health, University of Verona, Italy. mruggeri@borgoroma.univr.it
Lasalvia
A
A
Dall'Agnola
R
R
van Wijngaarden
B
B
Knudsen
H C
HC
Leese
M
M
Gaite
L
L
Tansella
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*