Patient satisfaction with Nurse Practitioner care in primary care settings

• Published in: Australian journal of advanced nursing Vol. 28; no. 4; pp. 12 - 19
• Main Authors: Gagan, Mary Jo, Maybee, Patricia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation 01.06.2011; Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation
• Subjects: Clinics; Nurse practitioners; Patient satisfaction; Primary health care; Primary nursing; Surveys; New Zealand
• ISSN: 1447-4328; 0813-0531; 1447-4328
• DOI: 10.37464/2011.284.1655

Objective: To determine the level of satisfaction with care and acceptance of the role of Nurse Practitioner in New Zealand. Design: A descriptive correlational study was conducted using a 15 item satisfaction survey distributed to participants by the clinic receptionist after a clinic visit to the NP. Demographic data, reason for visit and waiting times were also collected. Setting: Two clinical sites in the same medium sized city were used for data collection. The first site was a university campus health clinic and the second a primary health care clinic in an industrial area. Subjects: Convenience sample of the first 100 patients to complete and return the self‑administered survey from each practice site were to be included in the study. In fact 193 useable surveys were included. Outcome measures: Patient satisfaction and acceptance was measured using modified 15 item version of the Thrasher and Purc‑Stephenson (2008) satisfaction survey. Results: Patients were satisfied with the care they received and had accepted the role. Mean satisfaction score was 15.59; SD 4.71, range 12‑25. The lower the score the more satisfied the patient. Satisfaction was significantly correlated by only two variables, age (r=.221, p=.003) and role clarity (r=.355, p=.000). Conclusions: While this study contained limitations, the overall positive findings are similar to previous study findings on patient satisfaction with Nurse Practitioners care. The instrument, methodology, and findings of this study can be used as initial data on the evaluation and continued monitoring of the role in New Zealand (NZ).