title: Development and validation of a perioperative satisfaction questionnaire.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Satisfaction is considered a valuable measure of outcome of healthcare processes. Only a few anesthesia-related validated questionnaires are reported. Because their scope is restricted to specific clinical contexts, their use remains limited. The objective of the current study was to develop and validate a self-reported questionnaire, Evaluation du Vecu de l'Anesthesie Generale (EVAN-G), assessing the satisfaction of the perioperative period surrounding general anesthesia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Development of the EVAN-G questionnaire comprised a phase of item generation and a phase of psychometric validation. The patient sample was generated to be proportionally matched to the population of patients undergoing general anesthesia in France. The structure of the questionnaire was identified studying interitem, item-dimension, and interdimension correlations and factor analyses. Data were concurrently gathered to assess external validity. The discriminant validity was determined by comparison of scores across well known patient groups. Reliability was assessed by computation of Cronbach alpha coefficients and by test-retest.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight hundred seventy-four patients were recruited in eight anesthesia departments. The EVAN-G includes 26 items; six specific scores and one global index score are available. Correlations between EVAN-G scores and other concurrent measures supported convergent validity. The EVAN-G correlated poorly with age, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, total anesthesia time, and number of previous anesthesias. Significantly higher satisfaction was reported by patients older than 65 yr, belonging to the laryngeal mask group. Reliability and reproducibility were shown.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The EVAN-G adds important information oriented toward patients' perceptions. The authors' approach provides a novel, valid, and reliable tool that may be used in anesthesia practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Timone University Hospital, Marseilles, France. pascal.auquier@medecine.univ-mrs.fr
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Auquier
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pernoud
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bruder
authors.forename: Marie-Claude
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Simeoni
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Auffray
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colavolpe
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: François
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gouin
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Manelli
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sapin
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Blache
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019990:Perioperative Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*