Evaluation of family caregiver satisfaction with a mental health inpatient service.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the satisfaction of family caregivers with a mental health inpatient service in Brazil.

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. A sample of 80 caretaking family members answered the abbreviated version of the Brazilian Mental Health Services' Family Satisfaction scale (SATIS-BR) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Categorical variables were expressed as frequencies and percentages and quantitative variables as means and standard deviations. Interactions among variables and indexes of the scale were analyzed using the Student's t test, Pearson correlation coefficient and analysis of variance.

RESULTS: The results showed a high mean overall satisfaction score when considering the categorization of the items of the scale, with higher satisfaction indexes in the 'Treatment results' subscale and lower ones in the 'Reception and competence of staff' and 'Privacy and confidentiality' subscales. In the comparison of the samples studied, greater scores were observed in general satisfaction and in factors in the medical residency care model than in the attending psychiatrist model. There were no significant differences in terms of family member satisfaction in relation to sociodemographic variables.

CONCLUSION: Family member satisfaction was high. The need for improvement in aspects related to the infrastructure of services was evident. This paper underlines the importance of continuous and regular evaluations of the services provided, focusing on the satisfaction of users and family members in order to better understand the factors that contribute towards the quality of care provided.