Patient Satisfaction and the Effect of an Intervention ♦ 658

Increasing competition for a shrinking pool of pediatric inpatients requires that hospital pediatric services pay attention to customer satisfaction. We hypothesized that families who received a daily visit from a nurse facilitator would express greater satisfaction with nursing and physician care. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in which study patients received a daily visit from a research nurse. The nurse asked parents if they were getting the help and information that they needed; were doctors and nurses answering their questions and were other needs being met. On average, the facilitator spent about 10 minutes with each family although occasionally a significantly longer time was required. Most questions revolved around visiting, meals, and how to work cribs and lights. Some families asked about laboratory data and a minority wanted to speak to their nurse and/or physician. When appropriate, laboratory data were provided, nurses and physicians contacted. Before discharge, families completed a brief questionnaire regarding the nursing care and attending and resident physician care. Questions dealt largely with communication, including the amount of time physicians had spent with the family, physicians' concern for their worries, how well they had been kept informed about treatments, nurses' attitudes towards being called, nurses' attention to individual needs, etc. Answers were scored on a 5 point scale: very poor (1), poor (2), fair (3), good (4), very good (5). Control families did not receive facilitator visits but were asked to complete the same questionnaire. 50 families were studied in each group.

Results: Table We conclude that families who received a daily visit from a nurse facilitator were significantly more satisfied with the care and communication they received from their nurses and their attending and resident physicians than were control families. A simple intervention by an individual who pays attention to the personal needs of families and is able to provide basic information and reassurance is an effective means of improving parent satisfaction with the care their child receives in hospital.

Table 1 No caption available.