Quantitative and qualitative assessment of women's experience of a one-stop menstrual clinic in comparison with traditional gynaecology clinics

Objective A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the views of patient s attending two types of clinics for menstrual disorders. Methods Semi-structured qualitative interview and quantitative questionnair e. Setting Five traditional general gynaecology clinics and a one-stop menstru al clinic, where investigations are performed and results given to patients on the same day. Participants Two hundred and thirty-nine women (126 from the gynaecology cl inic and 113 from the menstrual clinic) were recruited into the quantitativ e study; 18 and 26 patients from the gynaecology and the menstrual clinic, respectively, were interviewed for the qualitative study. Main outcome measures Women's views about their care and progress towards r esolution of their problem. Results Following the initial consultation, 106 (84%) of the gynaecology cl inic, and 98 (87%) of the menstrual clinic patients completed the first par t of the questionnaire. Of those, 75 (71%) and 79 (81%) patients from the t wo types of clinic, respectively, completed a follow up questionnaire one y ear later. There were statistically significant differences in all the comp onents of the first part of the questionnaire (information, continuity, wai ting, organisation, and limbo) in favour of the one-stop menstrual clinic. After one year, there was a statistically significant difference in one of the components, patient centeredness, but not in overall process co-ordinat ion. The interviews showed that patients attending the menstrual clinic app reciated getting the results of their investigations on the same day. They also found the organisation of the one-stop menstrual clinic more closely s uited to their needs and as a result were more likely to feel they were mak ing progress. Conclusion Women were consistently more positive about their experience in the one-stop clinic. One-stop clinics organised to meet the needs of patien ts might be appropriate for other clinical conditions. The combination of q uantitative and qualitative methods is an effective method of assessing pat ients' views of health services.