Structure and reliability of Ware's Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire III: patients' satisfaction with oncological care in the Netherlands

BACKGROUND. The present study examined the structure and reliability of the Dutch version of the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire III (PSQ 111). The PSQ III was designed to measure technical competence, interpersonal manner, communication, time spent with doctor, financial aspects, and access to care. In the Dutch version, the financial items were left aside because these are not appropriate for the Dutch socialized system.

OBJECTIVES. The main objectives were to assess response bias, the number of dimensions needed to describe the PSQ III items, and the reliability of the scales. In addition, distribution characteristics were examined and norm scores to interpret satisfaction scores in an oncological setting were presented.

RESEARCH DESIGN. A cross-sectional survey study.

SUBJECTS. The study was comprised of 1594 cancer patients from eight hospitals.

MEASURES. The Dutch version of the PSQ III.

RESULTS. Approximately 14% of the respondents were found to demonstrate considerable response bias. Confirmative factor analyses were performed to test three theoretical models with a varying number of dimensions among those participants who did not demonstrate response bias. The original structure did not fit the data well, but support was found for a three-factor model (with interpersonal manner, communication, and time spent with doctor loading on one factor instead of separate factors) and a one-dimensional model.

CONCLUSIONS. The PSQ III seems to be an appropriate measure of cancer patients' satisfaction, with the note that the number of dimensions may vary for different patient groups and/or care settings and that it is important to be aware of response bias.