A survey of patient satisfaction as a means of evaluating quality of care in an open psychiatric ward

Abstract

Patients' satisfaction with their stay in an open psychiatric ward was studied retrospectively by means of a standardized questionnaire. The questionnaire was mailed during the autumn of 1995 to all patients discharged from the ward in 1990 and 1994. Overall response rate was 66.5%. Patients discharged during 1994 were more satisfied with the hospitalization, but the differences between the two populations were small. A major proportion of patients, including compulsorily admitted subjects, were highly satisfied. Men were more satisfied than women. The only factor that related to symptom relief at the time of the study was the reported benefit from pharmacotherapy. The questionnaire may be used in further research towards a consensus on good quality of inpatient psychiatric care.

Key Words:

• Inpatient care
• Patient satisfaction
• Quality of care