Usefulness of a national parent experience survey in quality improvement: views of paediatric department employees.
OBJECTIVE
This study presents results from an electronic survey among paediatric department employees, addressing employees' attitudes and use of results from a national parent experience survey carried out in 2005.


METHODS
Electronic questionnaire survey of employees from each of the 20 paediatric departments included in the national survey, with a response rate of 87%.


RESULTS
The employees had favourable opinions of user experience surveys, and the results from the national survey were well known among both managers and other personnel. User experience surveys were considered important, and 56% reported that they had implemented improvement actions addressing problems identified in the national survey. Managers reported more often than staff without managerial responsibility that the results had been informally discussed, and that the survey was useful for their own department. Department leaders were more positive to the usefulness of the survey than non-leaders. Significant differences in attitudes were found between physicians and other health personnel.


CONCLUSIONS
Employees in the paediatric departments were positive to user experience surveys, and the surveys have a potential to be actively used in quality improvement actions. Effects of the quality improvement initiatives should be assessed in future parent experience surveys.
Iversen
Hilde Hestad
HH
Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services, Post Box 7004 St Olavs Plass, Oslo 0130, Norway. hii@kunnskapssenteret.no
Bjertnæs
Øyvind Andresen
ØA
Groven
Gøril
G
Bukholm
Geir
G
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006748:Hospital Departments; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires