IJHCQA

Mean Mean Discrepancy

19,3 score of score of between the
Mean the lower the higher lowest and
Items score SD Wordinga 25% 25% highest 25%

11. The nurses should be more 3.62 1.13 2 2.22 4.58 2.36
250 attentive than they are
10. The nurses are too busy at 3.61 1.15 2 2.47 4.50 2.03
the desk to spend time
talking with me
2. Too often the nurses think 3.40 1.17 2 2.19 4.15 1.96
you can’t understand the
medical explanation of your
illness, so they just don’t
bother to explain
8. The nurses ask a lot of 3.82 0.96 2 2.78 4.66 1.88
questions, but once they
find the answers they don’t
seem to do anything
5. The nurses should be more 3.69 1.08 2 2.62 4.45 1.83
friendly than they are
23. The nurses are too slow to 3.88 0.98 2 2.95 4.65 1.70
do things for me
17. The nurses are just not 3.97 0.89 2 3.09 4.74 1.65
patient enough
18. The nurses are not precise 4.01 0.90 2 3.19 4.82 1.63
in doing their work
12. The nurses makes it a point 4.00 0.89 þ 3.14 4.69 1.55
to show me how to carry
out doctor’s orders
6. Nurses are persons who can 3.92 0.91 þ 3.16 4.60 1.44
understand how I feel
22. The nurses are often too 4.09 0.82 2 3.36 4.79 1.43
disorganized to appear
calm
9. When I need to talk to 3.76 0.90 þ 3.03 4.40 1.37
someone, I can go to the
nurses with my problems
15. The nurses really know 3.94 0.80 þ 3.28 4.60 1.32
what they are talking about
20. I am tired of the nurses 4.16 0.86 2 3.50 4.81 1.31
talking down to me
16. It is always easy to 3.78 0.86 þ 3.16 4.42 1.26
understand what the nurses
are talking about
7. The nurses explain things 3.99 0.74 þ 3.35 4.60 1.25
in a simple language
13. The nurses are 3.98 0.73 þ 3.29 4.53 1.24
understanding in listening
Table I. to a patient’s problem
Item discrimination of the 21. Just talking to the nurses 3.99 0.77 þ 3.31 4.55 1.24
Patient Satisfaction makes me feel better
Questionnaire (continued)
 Mean Mean Discrepancy
Patient
score of score of between the satisfaction
Mean the lower the higher lowest and
Items score SD Wordinga 25% 25% highest 25%

24. The nurses always give a 3.84 0.82 þ 3.24 4.43 1.19
complete enough 251
explanation of why things
are ordered
1. I wish the nurses would tell 2.79 1.19 2 2.14 3.32 1.18
me about the results of my
tests more than they do
14. The nurses give good 4.07 0.66 þ 3.52 4.61 1.09
advice
25. The nurses are skillful in 4.14 0.67 þ 3.64 4.66 1.02
performing procedures
19. The nurses give directions 3.85 0.73 þ 3.38 4.39 1.01
at just the right speed
4. A person feels free to ask 4.37 0.72 þ 3.86 4.84 0.98
the nurses questions
26. I receive adequate 4.17 0.75 þ 3.74 4.66 0.92
information, so I know
what to do when I get home
3. The nurses are pleasant to 4.45 0.71 þ 3.98 4.88 0.90
be around
Notes: aThe symbol 2 indicates that the item was negatively worded, such as “The nurses are just
not patient enough” (item 17); the symbol + indicates that the item was positively worded, such as:
“The nurses explained things in simple language” (item 7); the items are ordered according to the
amount of discrepancy between the scores of the 25 percent most satisfied patients and the 25 percent
least satisfied patients Table I.

questionnaires were excluded from the analysis, leaving 235. Data were gathered from
137 female patients (62.0 percent) and 84 male patients (34.9 percent), and 20 patients
(8.3 percent) did not indicate their gender. The mean age of the patients was 57 years.

Ethical considerations
Before conducting the study approval was acquired from the Institutional Review
Board and the Human Subjects Committee of The University of Texas at Austin. A
cover letter accompanied the questionnaire informing the patients about the study and
explaining their rights as subjects as well as instructions for how to participate in the
study. The completed questionnaires were mailed to the Texas Nurses’ Association
office and then were delivered unopened to the research team. In an effort to maintain
patient confidentiality, limited patient information (gender and age) was obtained.

Estimation of reliability, validity and sensitivity

Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (a) and item-total correlations were computed as a
measure of internal consistency. Theta (u) was calculated as an estimate of
homogeneity. A factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to assess the construct
validity of the questionnaire. To study the sensitivity of the modified 26-item PSQ an