title: Determinants of patient satisfaction with cataract surgery and length of time on the waiting list.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess determinants of patient satisfaction with their waiting time (WT) and cataract surgery outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective cohort of consecutive patients waiting for cataract surgery were assessed by their ophthalmologist. Satisfaction, maximum acceptable waiting time (MAWT), urgency, visual function, visual acuity (VA), and health related quality of life (EQ-5D) were assessed using mailed questionnaires before surgery and 8-10 weeks after surgery. Ordinal logistic regression was used to build explanatory models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  166 patients (61.9% female, mean age 73.4 years) had a mean WT of 16 weeks. Patients whose actual WT was shorter than their MAWT had greater odds of being satisfied with their WT than those whose WT was longer (adjusted OR 3.86, 95% CI 1.38 to 10.74). Improvement in visual function (OR 3.19, 95% CI 1.78 to 5.73), and VA (OR 4.27, 95% CI 1.70 to 10.68) significantly predicted satisfaction with surgery. Models were adjusted for age and sex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patient perspectives on MAWT and satisfaction with WT are important inputs to the process of determining WT standards for levels of patient priority. Patient expectation of WT may mediate satisfaction with actual WT.
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Conner-Spady
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sanmugasunderam
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Courtright
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: McGurran
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Noseworthy
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D013997:Time Factors; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014850:Waiting Lists