Assessing patient satisfaction. Part 1. The research process

Summary The research reported in this article formed part of a project evaluating nursing developments in four demonstration wards in one health authority, and the article focuses on evaluation of patient satisfaction. The evaluation of patient satisfaction is a topic surrounded by much methodological debate and therefore it was necessary to clarify the issues involved at the planning stage of the study. The ‘process’ aspects of evaluating patient satisfaction will be discussed here, while the content of patient interviews will be the subject of Part 2.