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Comment
. 2016 May-Jun;16(4):343-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2016.01.020. Epub 2016 Feb 4.

What Parents Want: Does Provider Knowledge of Written Parental Expectations Improve Satisfaction in the Emergency Department?

Kathleen S W Zoltowski  1 , Rakesh D Mistry  2 , David C Brousseau  3 , Travis Whitfill  1 , Paul L Aronson  4
Affiliations
Comment

What Parents Want: Does Provider Knowledge of Written Parental Expectations Improve Satisfaction in the Emergency Department?

Kathleen S W Zoltowski et al. Acad Pediatr. 2016 May-Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Satisfaction is an important measure of care quality. Interventions to improve satisfaction in the pediatric emergency department (ED) are limited, especially for patients with nonurgent conditions. Our objective was to determine if clinician knowledge of written parental expectations improves parental satisfaction for nonurgent ED visits.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in a tertiary-care pediatric ED. Parents of children presenting for nonurgent visits (Emergency Severity Index level 4 or 5) were randomized into 3 groups: 1) the intervention group completed an expectation survey on arrival, which was reviewed by the clinician, 2) the control group completed the expectation survey, which was not reviewed, and 3) the baseline group did not complete an expectation survey. At ED disposition, all groups completed a 3-item satisfaction survey, scored using 5-point Likert scales (1 = very poor, 5 = very good). The primary outcome was rating of "overall care." Secondary outcomes included likelihood of recommending the ED and staff sensitivity to concerns. Proportions were compared by chi-square test.

Results: A total of 304 subjects were enrolled. The proportion of parents rating 5 of 5 for overall care did not differ among the baseline, control, and intervention groups (74.8% vs 73.2% vs 69.2%, P = .56). The proportion of parents rating 5 of 5 also did not differ for likelihood of recommending the ED (77.7% vs 72.2% vs 70.2%, P = .45) or staff sensitivity to concerns (78.6% vs 78.4% vs 78.8%, P = .71).

Conclusions: For nonurgent pediatric ED visits, clinician knowledge of written parental expectations does not improve parental satisfaction.

Keywords: emergency department; parental expectations; satisfaction; survey.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.

Figures

Appendix Figure 1:
Appendix Figure 1:
Responses to satisfaction survey questions by study group
Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Study flow diagram
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Participant enrollment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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