The development of an instrument to measure satisfaction with physical therapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patient satisfaction continues to receive attention as a measure of the outcome of physical therapy intervention. However, a great deal more attention has been paid to the topic outside of, rather than within, physical therapy. This article describes the development of an instrument that measures patient satisfaction among physical therapists' patients and clients.

METHOD: A 26-item instrument designed to measure the domains of patient satisfaction among patients was developed by the authors in preparation for this study and field tested on patients from several sites comprising a large clinical operation. Descriptive statistics and estimates of reliability of measurements obtained with the instrument were computed. Reliability and validity were assessed. A total of 289 individuals completed the instrument.

RESULTS: The coefficient for reliability (Cronbach alpha=.99) obtained for the instrument was clearly within a desired range. Different types of validity were established as well.

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: Instruments typically used by physical therapists to measure patient satisfaction have undergone little psychometric analysis. This instrument appears to meet the criteria required to make it a useful tool for measuring patient satisfaction.