[The German adaptation of the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale: an instrument for patients' satisfaction with mental health care].
The German Adaptation of the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale: An Instrument for Patients' Satisfaction with Mental Health Care.


OBJECTIVE
Measuring effectiveness and quality of care became an important topic in psychiatry. Considering that objective criteria were not sufficient in the past, the subjective perspective gained growing interest. Client satisfaction is an important variable to evaluate psychiatric care. Patient satisfaction can influence treatment outcome as well as it determines the psychiatric system itself.


METHODS
The Italian original version of the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS-54) was translated and adapted to the German language. The instrument has been tested in the project "Cost-effectiveness of psychiatric service systems". The process of development, the psychometric testing and the practical application of the German version will be presented in this paper. Additional advantages and disadvantages are discussed.


RESULTS
As psychometric properties of the instrument correspond to conventional standards, they are comparable with the results of an international study. The drop out of items cannot be controlled, therefore analysing the data is difficult.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the VSSS shows various methodological limitations, it is at the moment an appropriate instrument for measuring patient satisfaction in the German language.
Mory
C
C
Universität Leipzig, Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie. moryc@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
Matschinger
H
H
Roick
C
C
Kilian
R
R
Bernert
S
S
Angermeyer
M C
MC
D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000191:economics; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000191:economics; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*
Die deutsche Version der Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS-54) - Ein Instrument zur Erfassung der Patientenzufriedenheit mit psychiatrischer Behandlung -