Client Satisfaction Survey Research Articles

Client Satisfaction Survey of Inpatient Trauma and Dissociative Disorders Program

Treatment interventions from a specialized multi-disciplinary inpatient trauma and dissociative disorders program were evaluated by 43 patients through the use of a satisfaction survey questionnaire. Interventions with the highest ranking means of usefulness, as perceived by participants, included individual therapy sessions by both the psychiatrist and the psychotherapist, trauma group, psychodrama, and goals-and-closure group. Body awareness group, led by nurses, and body movement group, led by expressive therapists, were rated the lowest. These results indicate the importance for specialized trauma programs to address body distorted perceptions of the dissociative patients while maintaining frequent individual treatment interventions that address the patients' existing problems they bring to therapy.

Evaluation of the impact and acceptance of a nutrition program in an HIV community clinic.

The present paper describes the evaluation of a nutrition service and research model for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive clients within a community based HIV acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) medical clinic. This program was designed to develop an effective, practical, replicable model for the delivery of nutrition services in the ambulatory HIV care setting. The objectives of evaluating the model were to define the ways that nutrition services in HIV/AIDS impacted clients, the clinic, and referral sources, and to continually refine the model by determining what services provide greatest benefit to clients, especially in view of the changing landscape of HIV therapy. Four evaluation activities completed during the study period of 5 years are described. These included a focus group and semistructured interview with clients, a semistructured interview with workers from the local network of service referral agencies and a client satisfaction survey at study "close-out." These evaluation processes confirmed or prompted programmatic modifications that improved access, confidentiality, and the relevance of specific components for clients. Providers/stakeholder's concerns were addressed through more frequent communication about clients' specific nutrition issues, clearer and easier referral and cooperation in recruiting patients. Also, the evaluation activities provided a platform for the communication of general and specific information about the program and for outreach. Although clients' and workers' priorities differed in some details of program implementation, there was strong agreement on the value of addressing nutrition concerns in HIV. Favorable feedback about the program gave impetus to continue nutrition services in the clinic after the project period ended and supports its application in other sites and settings.

Crisis Debriefing Groups for Emergency Responders: Reviewing the Evidence

Rescue workers who are exposed to mutilated bodies, mass destruction, multiple casualties, and life threatening situations may become the hidden victims of disaster. In response to concerns about the mental health implications of exposure to work-related trauma in emergency service personnel, the crisis debriefing model has arisen as an early intervention strategy designed to mitigate stress reactions. Recently however, controversy has arisen about the efficacy of the crisis debriefing group model. Initial reports supporting the efficacy of crisis debriefing groups have relied on anecdotal evidence, client satisfaction surveys, and clinical impressions of group leaders. Subsequent research has suggested that the model fails to reduce and may in fact exacerbate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This article reviews the crisis debriefing model as it has been applied to workers in various emergency fields and discusses the conflicting data surrounding efficacy. It concludes that there is some empirical support for the social support and psychoeducational components of the model. However, the component of the model that reviews graphic details of the event may increase intrusion symptoms through a process of vicarious traumatization.

Introduction of the GyneFix intra-uterine device into the UK: Client satisfaction survey and casenotes review

ObjectiveTo assess the first year's use with the GyneFix intra-uterine device. This has been used in Liverpool since early 1997. It is offered mainly to nulliparous women wishing to use...

Risperidone-induced ejaculatory dysfunction: a case report

A client satisfaction survey was undertaken in two adult psychiatric outpatient clinics. The anonymous self-report questionnaire covering demographic, setting and satisfaction with service variables was endorsed by 203 participants. The mean age of the subjects was 42.5 ± 19 years, with a small majority (58.6%) of females. Overall satisfaction with psychiatric care was high (79.8%). None of the demographic or setting variables correlated significantly with satisfaction. Psychoeducation was significantly correlated with level of satisfaction with services. These findings further emphasize the importance of psychoeducation by service providers in mental health.

Client Satisfaction with the Nutrition Education Component of the California WIC Program

Past evaluation research has documented improved nutritional outcomes resulting from participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). However, these evaluations have not examined the program from the clients' perspective, nor have they examined the independent effect of the nutrition education component. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively and qualitatively examine client satisfaction with the nutrition education component of the California WIC program. The methodology consisted of two phases. During phase I of the study (the quantitative component), participants completed Client Satisfaction Surveys immediately following attendance of one nutrition class. During phase II (the qualitative component), four focus groups were conducted. All subjects were participants in the California WIC program. Client Satisfaction Surveys were completed by 2138 participants, and the focus groups included 29 participants. Results from both phases of the study indicated that client satisfaction with the nutrition education component of the California WIC program was high. Between 80% and 95% of participants responded positively to five satisfaction questions, and focus group participants unanimously agreed that the nutrition education was an essential component of the program. Hispanic participants were more likely than non-Hispanic Caucasians, Asians, or African Americans to respond positively to three of the five satisfaction questions. For two of the questions, the frequency of positive responses increased as age increased and decreased as education level increased. A small segment of clients reported some dissatisfaction by responding negatively to one or more of the satisfaction questions (4% to 20% of respondents). Some suggestions for improvement were made by survey respondents. Identification of some WIC participants who are not completely satisfied with the nutrition education that they have received, paired with differences in satisfaction across demographic variables, suggests the need for a personalized approach to WIC nutrition education.

Survey of patient satisfaction in adult psychiatric outpatient clinics

A client satisfaction survey was undertaken in two adult psychiatric outpatient clinics. The anonymous self-report questionnaire covering demographic, setting and satisfaction with service variables was endorsed by 203 participants. The mean age of the subjects was 42.5 ± 19 years, with a small majority (58.6%) of females. Overall satisfaction with psychiatric care was high (79.8%). None of the demographic or setting variables correlated significantly with satisfaction. Psychoeducation was significantly correlated with level of satisfaction with services. These findings further emphasize the importance of psychoeducation by service providers in mental health.

Client Satisfaction Survey of a Wheelchair Seating Clinic

Client Satisfaction Survey of a Wheelchair Seating Clinic

The Client Satisfaction Survey as a Tool for Evaluating Library Fee-Based Information Services

ABSTRACT Fee-based services deliver information to a library's non-primary clientele by providing products such as document delivery and research services, usually on a cost-recovery basis. A client satisfaction survey is one method of evaluating a fee-based information service's effectiveness in meeting its clients' needs and of learning new ways to serve customers better. To gain the most benefit and insight from the survey's results, the survey must be carefully planned and implemented. Compiling, Interpreting, and reporting the results are equally important. Finally, the staff modifies or improves services based on the survey results.

Measuring Met and Unmet Need of Drug Misusers: Integration of Quantitative and Qualitative Data

This paper reports on the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods which were used to record the attitudes to, and perceptions of, drug treatment services by current, ex-, and potential clients in south-east London. Three research instruments were employed: a structured current client satisfaction survey (n = 333); a questionnaire which included open-ended questions, administered to drug users not currently in treatment (n = 88), and focus groups for young drug users not in treatment (n = 14), women in treatment (n = 7) and men in treatment (n = 11). The data thus collected were used to construct a picture of local met and unmet need and obstacles to the uptake of health care, which is supported by more than one perspective, and which can reasonably be used as the basis for the planning of local health care purchase. Three major concerns were revealed by the data: the inadequacy of existing GP drug services; the deterrent effect of long waiting lists for methadone treatment, and the role of treatment services in relation to those drug users who acknowledge that their drug use is problematic, but believe that treatment services have nothing to offer them.

Monitoring the benefits of family counseling: Using satisfaction surveys to assess the clients’ perspective

Client satisfaction surveys in the arena of mental health have become a frequently used approach to assessing benefits from services. While treated with suspicion by some researchers and practitioners, the findings from such surveys have proven useful to agencies that have systematically conducted such inquiries. The authors examine the body of work on client satisfaction and illustrate how such surveys can be used to monitor practice utilizing the experience of a multi‐service family and children's agency. The discussion will include developing and implementing a counseling client satisfaction survey to both monitor client feedback and improve agency services.

The effectiveness of a rural nursing center in improving health care access in a three-county area.

The purpose of this article is to describe an innovative nurse-managed health center that has been effective in improving access to primary health care for residents of a Midwestern three-county rural area. Penchansky and Thomas's (1981) framework for evaluating health care access was used to analyze client satisfaction and utilization data. Findings clearly indicate success in improving access. Client satisfaction surveys consistently show a high level of satisfaction across all framework dimensions, including overall satisfaction with the health care received. Utilization data indicate a steady increase in the number of clients served, especially those who are uninsured or underinsured. This article demonstrates that key dimensions of access can be effectively measured using the Penchansky and Thomas framework and concludes with recommendations for enhancing the model.

Development of a tool to measure clinical competence in occupational therapy: a pilot study?

Clinical competence is generally defined as a combination of knowledge, skill and professional behaviour. It is typically assessed using written tests, direct observation, chart audit, client satisfaction surveys and supervisor ratings. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a chart-stimulated recall (CSR) measure that combines the methods of chart audit and clinician interview to assess the clinical competence of practicing occupational therapists. The CSR tool was developed using the Canadian Guidelines for Client-Centred Practice and taps global domains of competence: use of theory, assessment, program planning, intervention, discharge planning, follow-up, program evaluation, clinical reasoning and professional behaviours. This pilot study involved two independent raters/interviewers who assessed twelve occupational therapy clinicians on two occasions using a random sample of client cases/records on each occasion Results indicate that the CSR tool is not only reliable and valid, but also sufficiently generic to be used in a variety of practice settings as a global measure of on-the-job performance.

Client Satisfaction Survey of a Wheelchair Seating Clinic

After a pilot phase, Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific's Wheelchair Seating Clinic officially opened in August 1998 to provide services for current and prospective wheelchair users. A satisfaction survey was developed and implemented to explore client satisfaction and identify program areas needing improvement. In April 1999, the survey was mailed to all 41 clients who had completed an assessment and received their equipment during the program's first 9 months. With a 63% response rate, results suggested that clients were very satisfied with the clinic's atmosphere, the therapist, and the program's ability to identify clients' individual goals and needs and to justify insurance coverage for needed equipment. However, clients wanted more information regarding vendor and cost options and better-timed follow-up sessions with the therapist once equipment arrived. The survey tool worked well and results helped to identify areas of success and areas in need of improvement in the clinic.

Client Satisfaction with Nursing Services: Evaluation in an Occupational Health Setting

Client satisfaction surveys have served as a valued appraisal tool of quality nursing care in various health care settings, but there is a paucity of published research using these tools in the occupational health setting. Employing a modified version of the SERVQUAL questionnaire, this study identified employees' current levels of satisfaction and perceived importance of nursing care provided by an occupational health program. Two hundred randomly selected employees were asked to participate by completing the survey, with 86 (43%) responding. Results indicated a positive correlation between client satisfaction and perceived importance of nursing care. Moderately high levels of client satisfaction existed in the sample. The use of client satisfaction surveys based on the strength of client preferences could identify areas of health care that need improvement.

Using client satisfaction surveys to evaluate and improve services in locked and unlocked adult inpatient facilities.

This article describes the implementation, in five inpatient subacute treatment facilities, of a satisfaction survey designed especially for adults with serious and persistent mental illnesses. The survey measures not only global satisfaction but also client perceptions about different treatment modalities and services, important treatment goals, and the philosophy of treatment. Data are presented from 770 completed surveys, illustrating patterns of satisfaction across facilities and services and patterns over time of stability and change in satisfaction. Data are also presented showing how the surveys were used to facilitate and measure improvements in clinical services. Finally, the implications for mental health services delivery are summarized.

The development of a quality information system: a case study of Mexico.

One of the primary obstacles in the implementation of continuous quality improvement (CQI) programmes in developing countries is the lack of timely and appropriate information for decentralized decision-making. The integrated quality information system (QIS) described herein demonstrates Mexico's unique effort to package four separate, yet mutually reinforcing, tools for the generation and use of quality-related information at all levels of the Mexican national health care system. The QIS is one element of the continuous quality improvement programme administered by the Secretariat of Health in Mexico. Mexico's QIS was designed to be flexible and capable of adapting to local needs, while at the same time allowing for the standardization of health care quality assurance indicators, and subsequent ability to measure and compare the quality performance of health facilities nationwide. The flexibility of the system extends to permit the optimal use of available data by health care managers at all levels of the health care system, as well as the generation of new information in important areas often neglected in more traditional information systems. Mexico's QIS consists of four integrated components: 1) a set of client and provider surveys, to assess specific issues in the quality of health services delivered; 2) client and provider national satisfaction surveys; 3) a sentinel health events strategy; and 4) a national Comparative Performance Evaluation System, for use by the Secretariate of Health for the quality assessment of state and provincial health care services (internal benchmarking). The QIS represents another step in Mexico's ongoing effort to use data for effective decision-making in the planning, monitoring and evaluation of services delivered by the national health care system. The design and application of Mexico's QIS provides a model for decentralized decision-making that could prove useful for developing countries, where the effective use of quality indicators is often limited. Further, the system could serve as a mechanism for motivating positive change in the way information is collected and used in the process of ensuring high quality health care service delivery.

Preparing for Managed Care in Residential Treatment

ABSTRACT To prepare for managed care in child welfare, foster care agencies need to adapt to a number of upcoming changes in practice. They may need to change a program oriented administrative structure to a geographically oriented one, form networks of service providers, develop specific practice guidelines for delineated client groups, determine the true costs of care for these client groups in preparation for capitated financing, develop family case management practices, family friendly services and client satisfaction surveys, become more politically active in a wider professional arena, and learn to work in tandem with child protective service workers in public agencies.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Continuum: Maximizing Outcomes through Bridging the Gap from Hospital to Community-Based Services

Objective: To describe and examine the effects of a specialized brain injury vocational service delivery model on vocational outcome for individuals with traumatic or other acquired brain injury. Design: A prospective case series was used. Setting: Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation departments at a large midwest regional trauma center. Participants: Eighty adults with traumatic or other acquired brain injury were residents of the state of Minnesota, did not have a primary psychiatric or substance abuse diagnosis, and did not live in a residential care facility. Main Outcome Measures: Vocational Outcome Scale (VOS), Client Satisfaction Survey, and data on participant's level of independent living, job type and setting, rate of pay, and number of hours worked per week. Results: Through emphasizing early vocational intervention, closely integrating this with medical rehabilitative treatment, and providing a smooth transition from medical to community-based services, 40% of project participants were placed in a job within the first 3 months of project participation; about 70% were placed within 12 months of project participation. Those placed have an average rate of pay of $7.70 per hour and a 90-day job retention rate of 100%. Conclusions: Results indicate that this system of specialized brain injury vocational service delivery is effective.

Bubbles before birth

When a spa bath was installed in the maternity unit of Osborne Park Hospital, a Quality Assurance survey was undertaken to try to identify any potential problems. At the same time a client satisfaction survey was conducted. The study highlighted many benefits to the client as an alternative method of pain management. At the same time no obvious problems were identified. However, due to lack of control of the many variables, and the absence of statistical analysis, no definite conclusions can be drawn from the study. Positive responses from clients encourage us to continue to offer the spa bath as a method of pain management. This is an area which begs research. Water has long been recognised as an effective form of pain relief (Odent 1983, Lines 1993, Enkin et al 1995). However, little literature was found on the use of a spa bath for pain management during labour. Some maternity units in Western Australia installed spa baths in their birth suite only to realise that residual water was left in the pipe after each bath, creating an infection control hazard. These spa units were subsequently removed. Bearing this in mind, when renovating the birth suite at Osborne Park Hospital, we purchased a Senex air-driven spa bath. This bath leaves no residual water. The spa can be used as a conventional bath or as a spa with two levels of water modulation. Controls are within easy reach of the bather. The bath is to be used solely for pain management. No water births are contemplated. However, the bath is installed in the centre of the room away from the walls allowing easy access all around in case of an emergency. The spa bath is cleaned with soap and water after and, as an added precaution, prior to each use. At least once per week, a strong mixture of vinegar and water is agitated with high modulation for ten minutes. This has been successful in removing any crusty build-up around the air jets.