A NEW INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE PATIENT SATISFACTION WITH MAMMOGRAPHY - VALIDITY, RELIABILITY, AND DISCRIMINATORY POWER

OBJECTIVES. The benefit of mammography depends on repeated use. Theref ore, surveying the mammographic quality as judged by the users address es an important topic. The authors assess the practicality, validity, reliability, and discriminatory power of a new, brief, multidimensiona l questionnaire for measuring patient satisfaction with mammography. I t-ems measuring discomfort and attitudes toward repeat adherence were included. METHODS. A self-administered questionnaire was given to wome n from six radiology departments in Norway Four hundred eighty-eight o ut of 550 women referred for screening or diagnostic mammography were included. Seventy-seven patients also completed the test/retest study, and 44 women additionally completed an Australian questionnaire. Scor es for patient satisfaction on the structure, process, discomfort, and general satisfaction scales of the questionnaire were used as the mai n outcome measures. RESULTS. Response rate was 89%, and rate of comple tion was more than 95%. Strict psychometric criteria for construct val idity and reliability were satisfied. Because lower levels of satisfac tion were detectable with the new questionnaire but not with the Austr alian questionnaire and because an acceptable degree of variability in response was detected, support for discriminatory power was found. CO NCLUSIONS. The discomfort dimension contributed substantially to valid ity and discriminatory power. Patient behavior with time may be monito red with the new questionnaire, thus representing a valuable tool for scientific and practical purposes.