Parents' global rating of mental health correlates with SF-36 scores and health services satisfaction.
BACKGROUND
Patient satisfaction surveys are often used to measure quality of care. However, patient satisfaction may not be a reliable indicator of service quality because satisfaction can be influenced by clients' characteristics such as their health status.


METHODS
Parents of children attending a pediatric neurology clinic completed the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and global ratings of their physical and mental health. They also completed the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), the Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC), and the Family-Centered Care Survey (FCCS).


RESULTS
104 parents completed the survey. The correlation between the global rating of physical or mental health and their corresponding SF-36 scores was high. The majority (88%) of parents were satisfied, with a median CSQ score of 28 (IQR, 24 to 31) and a FCCS score of 4.7 (IQR, 4.2 to 4.9). Logistic regression identified parents' mental health as a significant predictor of client satisfaction (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.14).


CONCLUSIONS
Given the positive association between parents' mental health and satisfaction with care, it is important to consider mental status as a covariate in interpreting satisfaction surveys. Parents' global rating of mental health appears to be a reasonable indicator of their SF-36 mental scores.
Mah
Jean K
JK
Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Alberta Children's Hospital, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2T 5C7. jean.mah@calgaryhealthregion.ca
Tough
Suzanne
S
Fung
Thomas
T
Douglas-England
Kathleen
K
Verhoef
Marja
M
D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D000328:Adult; D000416:Alberta; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006748:Hospital Departments / Q000592:standards; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs; D009462:Neurology / Q000592:standards; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires