Family satisfaction in the intensive care unit: cross-cultural adaptation of a questionnaire

PURPOSE: Family needs and expectations are often unmet in the intensive care unit (ICU), leading to dissatisfaction. This study assesses cross-cultural adaptability of an instrument evaluating family satisfaction in the ICU. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A Canadian instrument on family satisfaction was adapted for German language and central European culture and then validated for feasibility, validity, internal consistency, reliability, and sensitivity. RESULTS: Content validity of a preliminary translated version was assessed by staff, patients, and next of kin. After adaptation, content and comprehensibility were considered good. The adapted translation was then distributed to 160 family members. The return rate was 71.8%, and 94.4% of questions in returned forms were clearly answered. In comparison with a Visual Analogue Scale, construct validity was good for overall satisfaction with care (Spearman rho = 0.60) and overall satisfaction with decision making (rho = 0.65). Cronbach alpha was .95 for satisfaction with care and .87 for decision-making. Only minor differences on repeated measurements were found for interrater and intrarater reliability. There was no floor or ceiling effect. CONCLUSIONS: A cross-cultural adaptation of a questionnaire on family satisfaction in the ICU can be feasible, valid, internally consistent, reliable, and sensitive.

Dental fear and satisfaction with dental services in Switzerland.

OBJECTIVES Dental satisfaction is associated with continuity of dental care, compliance with dentist advice, and positive health outcomes. It is expected that people with higher dental fear might have less dental satisfaction because of more negative dental experiences. The objective of this study was to examine satisfaction and reasons for satisfaction with dental practitioners in Switzerland and variations by dental fear. METHODS A national sample of 1,129 Swiss residents aged 15-74 (mean = 43.2 years) completed a personal interview at their home with questions assessing dental fear, dental service use, general satisfaction with their dentist, and reasons for satisfaction or dissatisfaction. RESULTS Overall, 47.9 percent of participants responded that they were satisfied with their dentist and 47.6 percent that they were very satisfied. Satisfaction differed significantly by gender, language spoken, region of residence, and educational attainment. Greater dental fear was significantly associated with greater dissatisfaction with the dentist. The percentage of people who were very satisfied with the dentist ranged from 56.0 percent among people with no fear to 30.5 percent for participants with "quite a lot" of fear but was higher (44.4 percent) for people who stated that they were "very much" afraid of the dentist. The most common reasons attributed for satisfaction with dentists were interpersonal characteristics of the dentist and staff. People with "quite a lot" of fear were found to endorse these sentiments least. CONCLUSIONS Although higher dental fear was associated with more dissatisfaction with the dentist, the level of satisfaction among fearful individuals in Switzerland is still high.