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.