Reliability and Validity of a Satisfaction Scale in a Nigerian Psychiatric Out-Patient Clinic.

Background :There are no reports from Nigeria of assessment of patients\' satisfaction with outpatient psychiatric services. Aim:The reliability and preliminary validity of the Charleston Psychiatric Outpatient Satisfaction Scale (CPOSS) was investigated in a Nigerian population . Method:The CPOSS was administered to 220 patients seen at the psychiatric clinics of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital , Ile-Ife, Nigeria. They completed this 15 item self-rated instrument that assesses patient satisfaction with services using a 5 point response format. Results:The internal consistency for the scale was high ( a=0.91), and item total correlations ranged between 0.33 to 0.70. Its convergent validity was supported by significant correlations of all items with the overall scale score,with a range of 0.30 to 0.68( Pearson\'s r). Mean scores for items except “ parking area” ranged from 3.0 to 3.7. Bivariate correlations for all items except item “13” ‘parking\' showed significant associations.Seventy one percent of clients rated that they would definitely recommend the service to friends or family members. Subjects were most dissatisfied with time waiting to be seen . Conclusions:These results provide preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the scale in a Nigerian outpatient psychiatric clinic service Keywords : Patients' Satisfaction Scale, Psychiatric Care, Nigeria Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 6 (1) 2008: pp. 31-36