REEXAMINATION OF THE PSYCHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LAMONICA-OBERST PATIENT SATISFACTION SCALE

The purpose of this study was to provide further psychometric testing of the 41-item La Monica-Oberst Patient Satisfaction Scale (LOPSS). Da ta were drawn from three studies designed to study a model of nurse sp ecialist transitional care (n=307). Previously, the scale had been tes ted with oncology patients. This study included three groups of nononc ologic female patients. Potential scores on the LOPSS range from 41 to 205; actual scores ranged from 93 to 205, with a mean of 175 (SD = 24 ), indicating a positively skewed distribution. Coefficient alpha for the entire scale was .98. An examination of the individual items indic ated that the LOPSS might be shortened without subsequent loss of info rmation. Thirteen items with low item-total correlations or low variab ility were dropped. The resulting 28-item scale had a mean of 118.7 an d a SD of 17.3. Coefficient alpha was .97. The results of a factor ana lysis of the revised scale were similar to those reported by La Monica , Oberst, Madea, and Wolf (1986). The results indicate that the scale is useful for nononcologic patients. The difficulty remains the positi vely skewed distribution of scores. More sensitive items need to be de veloped. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.