Objective: To explore factors influencing the satisfaction of patients, parents, and referring clinicians who used the services of an adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit, and to explore how levels of satisfaction related to the patient's symptomatic and functional improvement during the admission.
Method: All 105 adolescents, their families, and the referring community clinicians who used an inpatient service over a 1-year period were asked to rate the patient's symptoms and functioning on admission, at discharge, and 4 months after the patient's return to the community. We obtained satisfaction ratings at discharge, and consumers were asked to rate helpfulness of the ward experience at 4 months postdischarge. Ward psychiatrists provided Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) ratings and diagnoses over the course of the inpatient stay.
Results: Most of the patients (83%) improved during their admission. Consumer satisfaction ratings correlated with improvement of self-identified problems and with the perceived usefulness of discharge recommendations. Satisfaction did not, however, correlate with the patient's symptomatic and functional progress. Interaction with ward staff was an important source of both positive and negative experiences.
Conclusion: Our study indicates that inpatient psychiatric staff should attend closely to the consumer's perception of difficulties and the need for practical discharge recommendations.