[Validating an instrument for measuring the perceived quality of services received by people using hospitals in Colombia].
OBJECTIVE
Validating an instrument for measuring the perceived quality of services received by people using hospitals forming part of the Colombian Ministry of Social Protection's restructuring, redesigning and modernisation programme for health-service providing networks.


METHODS
Sánchez and Echeverri's guidelines for validating health quality measurement scales were followed due to the lack of a valid instrument for doing this in Colombia.


RESULTS
Conceptual synthesis led to identifying a structure of constituent indicators, domains and sub-domains regarding the perception of health service quality. A list of reactions (having a scale for categorising the replies) was analysed according to the validity of appearance, construct, criteria and utility as criteria for sensitivity and usefulness. Successive revisions and three rounds of field-trials led to producing PECASUSS, an acronym given to the instrument for measuring users' perception of health service quality (Percepción de Calidad Según Usuarios de Servicios de Salud).


CONCLUSIONS
The guidelines effectively orientated the validation of the instrument required for measuring the perceived quality of health services received by people using hospitals forming part of the programme.
Cabrera-Arana
Gustavo A
GA
Facultad Nacional de Salud Pública Héctor Abad Gómez, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia. gcabrera@guajiros.udea.edu.co
Londoño-Pimienta
Jaime L
JL
Bello-Parías
León D
LD
D003105:Colombia; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011787:Quality of Health Care