Consumer satisfaction with occupational health services: should it be measured?

Objectives-To find answers in the literature to the questions if, why, and how consumer satisfaction with occupational health services (OHSs) should b e measured. Methods-Publications about the concept of consumer satisfaction with health care and surveys of consumer satisfaction with occupational health care we re reviewed. Results-For care providers, surveys of consumer satisfaction can be useful to improve quality or as indicators of non-compliant behaviour among patien ts. For clients, satisfaction surveys can be helpful for choosing between h ealthcare providers. Satisfaction is made up of an affective component of e valuation and a cognitive component of expectations, Also, in occupational healthcare, patient satisfaction is measured by dimensions such as the huma nness and competence of the care provider similar to health care in general . However, there are dimensions that are specific to occupational health-su ch as the perceived independence of the physician, unclear reasons for visi ting an OHS, and the perceived extent of knowledge of OHS professionals abo ut the patient's working conditions. Dimensions of client satisfaction are mostly similar to patient satisfaction but include more businesslike aspect s. They are different for the two groups of client, employers and employees . To measure consumer satisfaction in occupational healthcare specific ques tionnaires must be constructed. To achieve the highest possible reader sati sfaction guidelines are provided for construction of a questionnaire. Conclusions-Consumer satisfaction is a complex theoretical concept, but it is relatively easy to measure in practice and can be a valuable tool for qu ality improvement. Consumers' evaluations of occupational health services w ill become increasingly important due to changes in the organisation of occ upational health care. Occupational healthcare providers are encouraged to measure the consumer satisfaction of their services.