ABSTRACT
Objective: Patients' appraisal of health care delivery system and services during COVID-19 could be an important yardstick for hospital administration and policy makers. The study attempted to develop and test the psychometric properties of a new patient satisfaction scale for COVID-19 patients. Methods: A total of 446 COVID-19-hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a tertiary care designated COVID-19 care hospital constituted the sample. Factor structure of scale was obtained using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Internal consistency, split-half reliability, and validity (e.g., content, convergent, and divergent) were also evaluated. Results: Item reduction resulted in a 21-item scale consisting of three factors, namely COVID-19-focused treatment facility, COVID-19-appropriate hospital facility, and COVID-19-specific daily needs service facility. It demonstrated excellent internal consistency and reliability (Cronbach's alpha [α]: 0.93; Split-half reliability: 0.90), excellent content validity, and adequate convergent and divergent validity. The scale had no floor effects. Inter-index correlations were significant. To our knowledge: this scale is the first such psychometrically robust self-rated scale for patients' perception about hospital services during COVID-19. Available in both Hindi and English languages, the scale provides a quick measure of patient experience regarding CCOVID-19-specific hospital services.
ABSTRACT
Objective The social and behavioral changes brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have led to adverse consequences on the psychosocial functioning of peripartum women. Therefore, we developed and validated a tool to assess the psychosocial effect of the pandemic among these women. Methods The questionnaire was developed using a scientifically accepted systematic methodology comprising literature search, focus-group discussion (FGD), expert evaluation, pretesting, and validation. Results The final questionnaire consists of 38 questions, and it has a Cronbach's α value of 0.90 and a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.773. Conclusion The questionnaire has good reliability and face, content, and construct validity. It can be used to assess the psychosocial functioning of peripartum women in low middle-income countries and help perinatal mental health specialists to devise strategies to cope with the psychological impact of COVID-19-like pandemics on peripartum women.