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Completed

NCT Number: NCT01466140

Effects of Writing Down the Request for Help on Patient Satisfaction in General Practices

The primary objective of this study is to determine whether exploring the request for help more thoroughly improves patient satisfaction in general practice (primary care).

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Key information

Conditions

Patient Satisfaction Behavior Doctor Satisfaction Duration of Consultation Health Behavior Treatment Adherence and Compliance

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Isala Clinics

Zwolle, Overijssel, 8025 AB, Netherlands

About this study

Patient satisfaction has been an important topic of interest in primary health care during the last decade(s). Many factors during the consultation influence patient satisfaction. One of the aspects in a consultation is the request for help; especially in primary care the request for help has been recognised as an important aspect influencing patient satisfaction. The investigators hypothesized that exploring the request for help more thoroughly would improve patient satisfaction in general practice.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • All patients with a new request for help.

Exclusion criteria

  • Dementia
  • Mental disability
  • No or little knowledge of the Dutch language
  • Illiteracy
  • Limited vision

Treatment and study plan

Writing down request for help

Other

Patients in the intervention group could write down their request for help on a request card (with a maximum of 2 questions).

Primary outcomes

  1. Patient satisfaction measured with the Consultation Satisfaction Questionnaire

    Time frame: 15-30 minutes (after the consultation patients filled in the questionnaire)

    The primary endpoint is the 'Professional Care' (PC) scale of the 'Consultation Satisfaction Questionnaire' (CSQ). In a previous study the score on the PC were 88.2 en 80.9 in the intervention and control groups, respectively. The standard deviations were 11.8 en 16.1. For our sample size calculation we used an expected standard deviation of 15. The sample size required to detect a difference of 7 on the PC scale between the intervention and control group, with a power of 90%, and alpha of 5% (two-tailed), and a standard deviation of 15, was 196 patients. We rounded this number off to 200.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Patient satisfaction measured with the Visual Analog Scale

    Time frame: 15-30 minutes (patients filled in the Visual Analog Scale after the consultation)

    On a scale of 0-10 patients could fill in the Visual Analog Scale with regard to the patient satisfaction during the consultation

  2. Doctor satisfaction measured with the Visual Analog Scale

    Time frame: 15-30 minutes (general pracitioners filled in the Visual Analog Scale after the consultation)

    On a scale from 0-10 general practitioners could fill in the Visual Analog Scale with regard to their own satisfaction about the consultation

  3. Duration of the consultation

    Time frame: 15-30 minutes (after the consultation the doctor measured the time with a stopwatch)

    Duration of the consultation was compared between both groups

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Nanne Kleefstra

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Effects of Writing Down the Request for Help With Regard to Patient Satisfaction in General Practices

Important dates

Study start
2011
Primary completion
2011
Study completion
2011
First posted
Nov 7, 2011
Registry last updated
Nov 7, 2011

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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