Older people: the enigma of satisfaction surveys

Background and Aims: Health and social care reforms have emphasised the need for health and social care professionals to monitor user satisfaction. Obtaining the opinions of clients is an important mechanism for improving quality in health and social care. This paper discusses methodological issues in measuring satisfaction among older service clients.
Methods and Results: Examples will be used from the authors' own experiences of conducting research with older people to ascertain opinions and levels of satisfaction. The strengths and weakness of methods used to collect the opinions of older clients using interview and non-standardised questionnaires are critically considered. The authors suggest that occupational therapists need to understand the methodological issues that can impact upon older clients' responses to satisfaction questions.
Conclusion: If occupational therapists are committed to the ethos of client-centred practice, then clients must not only be consulted and involved in service delivery, but also in the design and implementation of satisfaction surveys.