A simple tool to measure patient perceptions of operative birth.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the feasibility and validity of a maternal satisfaction measurement tool, the SaFE study Patient Perception Score (PPS), after operative delivery.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
A large maternity unit in England.


METHODS
150 women who had had an operative birth.


METHODS
We recruited women within 24 hours of birth and quantified their satisfaction with two questionnaires: PPS, and the Mackey Childbirth Satisfaction Rating Scale (CSRS; modified).


METHODS
Participation rate to determine feasibility; Cronbach's alpha as measure of internal consistency; PPS satisfaction scores for groups of accoucheurs of different seniority to assess construct validity; correlation coefficient of PPS scores with total scores from the CSRS questionnaire to establish criterion validity.


RESULTS
Participation rate approached 85%. We observed high scores for most births except a few outliers. Internal consistency of the PPS was high (Cronbach's alpha=0.83). Total PPS scores correlated strongly with total CSRS scores (Spearman's r=0.64, P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The PPS is a simple and valid tool for patient-centred assessments. High scores were observed for most births but there were a small minority of accoucheurs who consistently scored poorly and these data could be used during appraisal and training.
Siassakos
D
D
Women's Health, Chilterns, Southmead Hospital, Westbury on Trym, BS10 5NB, Bristol, UK. jsiasakos@gmail.com
Clark
J
J
Sibanda
T
T
Attilakos
G
G
Jefferys
A
A
Cullen
L
L
Bisson
D
D
Draycott
T
T
D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000592:standards*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D004739:England; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005113:Extraction, Obstetrical / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011594:Psychometrics