Incorporating Perceived Importance of Service Elements Into Client Satisfaction Measures

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the need for incorporating perceived importance of service elements into client satisfaction measures. Method: A secondary analysis of client satisfaction data from 112 clients of an elderly case management setting was conducted. Results: This study found that the relationship between global client satisfaction and the composite of satisfaction with service elements differed significantly, depending on perceived importance of service elements. Conclusions: These results call into question the practice of simply adding or averaging scores from satisfaction items to produce global satisfaction scores without considering perceived importance of the service elements.

Keywords

instrument construction client satisfaction case management

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