EVALUATING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH COLONOSCOPY

Twenty patients were interviewed shortly after colonoscopy, and the ad jectives and phrases they used to describe the experience were formed into a 31-item questionnaire, on which each item was rated using a sev en-point scale. This questionnaire was completed by 110 similar patien ts. Principal components analysis of these responses yielded three com ponents: satisfaction, physical discomfort, and emotional distress. Th is demonstrates that patients' experience of colonoscopy is multi-dime nsional; whether or not a patient feels satisfied is unrelated to how distressing or uncomfortable it is. Component-based scale scores were calculated so as to quantify every patient's experience on each dimens ion. Procedures performed by the most experienced endoscopist were no less uncomfortable than others, but they were less distressing. Female patients experienced more discomfort than males, but were no more dis tressed or less satisfied. This questionnaire could be useful in any f uture audit of colonoscopy from the patients' point of view.