The multidisciplinary hemodialysis patient satisfaction scale: Reliability, validity, and scale development

Patient satisfaction is frequently used to evaluate service quality. Although this is a common construct, satisfaction scale development has often overlooked the importance of psychometric properties and the uniqueness of patient experiences. Although there is a substantial body of literature investigating satisfaction with general patient services and physicians, development in the areas of multidisciplinary team assessment, specific patient populations, and minority groups is needed. To date, only one hemodialysis patient satisfaction scale with attention to psychometric properties appears to be available. However, this instrument does not assess satisfaction with the roles of the full hemodialysis treatment team. The present study reports the development and preliminary reliability and validity studies of the Multidisciplinary Hemodialysis Patient Satisfaction Scale (MHPSS). This 110-item Likert scale assesses the degree of satisfaction with the health care services of a multidisciplinary hemodialysis team. Methods used to construct the subscales, measuring different dimensions of service, include item analyses and principal components factor analysis. Matched-pair items were included and partialled out of a correlation matrix to control for inconsistent responding or for possible response biases. Results indicate that the MHPSS is psychometrically sound and may be a useful tool for assessment of patient satisfaction and continuous quality assessment of hemodialysis services.