title: Doctors' engagements with patient experience surveys in primary and secondary care: a qualitative study.
abstract: Patient experience surveys are increasingly important in the measurement of, and attempts to improve, health-care quality. To date, little research has focused upon doctors' attitudes to surveys which give them personalized feedback.
  
  
  
  This paper explores doctors' perceptions of patient experience surveys in primary and secondary care settings in order to deepen understandings of how doctors view the plausibility of such surveys.
  
  
  
  We conducted a qualitative study with doctors in two regions of England, involving in-depth semi-structured interviews with doctors working in primary care (n = 21) and secondary care (n = 20) settings. The doctors in both settings had recently received individualized feedback from patient experience surveys.
  
  
  
  Doctors in both settings express strong personal commitments to incorporating patient feedback in quality improvement efforts. However, they also concurrently express strong negative views about the credibility of survey findings and patients' motivations and competence in providing feedback. Thus, individual doctors demonstrate contradictory views regarding the plausibility of patient surveys, leading to complex, varied and on balance negative engagements with patient feedback.
  
  
  
  Doctors' contradictory views towards patient experience surveys are likely to limit the impact of such surveys in quality improvement initiatives in primary and secondary care. We highlight the need for 'sensegiving' initiatives (i.e. attempts to influence perceptions by communicating particular ideas, narratives and visions) to engage with doctors regarding the plausibility of patient experience surveys.
  
  
  
  This study highlights the importance of engaging with doctors' views about patient experience surveys when developing quality improvement initiatives.
authors.affiliation: Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (CCHSR), Institute of Public Health, Forvie Site, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Conor
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Farrington
authors.affiliation: Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (CCHSR), Institute of Public Health, Forvie Site, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Jenni
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0037-274X
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Burt
authors.affiliation: Department of Primary Care and Public Health, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Boiko
authors.affiliation: University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (CCHSR), Institute of Public Health, Forvie Site, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roland
mesh_terms: D004739:England; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011320:Primary Health Care; D036301:Qualitative Research; D058996:Quality Improvement; D063127:Secondary Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: patient experience surveys; primary care; quality improvement; secondary care