CONSULTAUTOR The patient satisfaction questionnaire of EUprimecare project: measurement properties

OBJECTIVE: The measurement of patient satisfaction is considered an essential outcome indicator to evaluate health care quality. Patient satisfaction is considered a multi-dimensional construct, which would include a variety of domains. Although a large number of studies have proposed scales to measure patient satisfaction, there is a lack of psychometric information on them. This study aims to describe the psychometric properties of the Primary Care Satisfaction Scale (PCSS) of the EUprimecare project. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey of patient satisfaction with primary care was carried out by telephone interview. SETTING: Primary care services of Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Italy and Spain. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3020 adult patients aged 18-65 years old attending primary care services. METHOD: Classic psychometric properties were analysed and Rasch analysis was used to assess the following measurement properties: fit to the Rasch model; uni-dimensionality; reliability; differential item functioning (DIF) by gender, age, civil status, area of residency and country; local independency; adequacy of response scale; and scale targeting. RESULTS: To achieve good fit to the Rasch model, the original response scales of three items (1, 2 and 6) were rescored and Item 3 (waiting time in the room) was removed. The scale was uni-dimensional and Person Separation Index was 0.79, indicating a good reliability. All items were free from bias. PCSS linear measure displayed satisfactory convergent validity with overall satisfaction with primary care. CONCLUSIONS: PCSS, as a reliable and valid scale, could be used to measure patient satisfaction in primary care in Europe. This work was supported by EUprimecare project that was funded under the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme (grant no. 241595).