Measuring resident satisfaction in residential aged care.

PURPOSE The aims of this study were to assess the factor structure, reliability, and validity of an existing Resident Satisfaction Questionnaire (RSQ) and to develop a short-form RSQ for regular use in residential aged care settings. DESIGN AND METHODS A cross-sectional survey design was adopted to collect the required information, with facilities being selected using stratified random sampling. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on a sample of 1,146 residents in 70 residential aged care facilities in Western Australia. RESULTS The RSQ is confirmed to be a reliable, valid, context-relevant, and easy-to-use instrument for assessing residents' satisfaction with their residential aged care facilities. Resident satisfaction, as assessed via the RSQ, was found to be a multidimensional construct comprising six factors-Room, Home, Social Interaction, Meals Service, Staff Care, and Involvement. IMPLICATIONS A 24-item short version of the RSQ can be constructed based on the six-factor resident satisfaction measurement model and used as a regular monitoring tool of resident satisfaction for quality improvement purposes.