Comparison of patients satisfaction with community-based vs. hospital psychiatric services

OBJECTIVE: Previous work suggests that psychiatric patients are more satisfied with community-based than with hospital-based services, but it is not clear how far these findings can be generalized to routine services. The aim of this study was to compare the satisfaction of patients with psychosis between a hospital-based service in London, UK and a community-based service in Verona, Italy. METHOD: The Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS) was used to measure satisfaction among patients with psychosis in Nunhead (London) and South Verona. RESULTS: Satisfaction across all dimensions was higher in South Verona than in Nunhead. Sociodemographic and service use differences between the two groups were insufficient to explain this difference. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that experimental findings that patients prefer community-based to hospital psychiatric services can be generalized to routine services.