ArticleQuality & safety in health care2008
Do patient surveys work? The influence of a national survey programme on local quality-improvement initiatives.
Article in Quality & safety in health care, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Patient feedback to improve quality of patient-centred care in public hospitals: a systematic review of the evidence.BMC health services research · 2020Pooled it
- Evaluating Digital Maturity and Patient Acceptability of Real-Time Patient Experience Feedback Systems: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Pooled it
- Systematic review of approaches to using patient experience data for quality improvement in healthcare settings.BMJ open · 2016Pooled it
- Facilitated patient experience feedback can improve nursing care: a pilot study for a phase III cluster randomised controlled trial.BMC health services research · 2013Trial
- One step on the QI journey: team perspectives on surveys for improvement.BMJ open quality · 2025Article
- Enhancing Learning Systems in Using Patient Experience Data: An Exploratory Mixed-Method Study in Two Italian Regions.The International journal of health planning and management · 2025Article
- Ultrahypofractionated Adjuvant Breast Radiation Therapy (± Boost) and Virtual Consultations: Patient Perspectives at 1 Year.Advances in radiation oncology · 2025Article
- Development, validation and feasibility of a Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire for evaluating the quality performance of a diagnostic small fibre neuropathy service: A qualitative study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Reliability and validity of the Patient Experiences Questionnaire for Interdisciplinary Treatment for Substance Dependence - Continuous Electronic Measurement (PEQ-ITSD - CEM).BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Healthcare Service Quality Evaluated Using the Degree of Satisfaction of Patients in Romanian Community Pharmacies.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Using patient comments from a standardised experience survey to investigate their perceptions and prioritise improvement actions: a thematic and syntactic analysis.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Patient and healthcare provider perceptions on using patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) in routine clinical care: a systematic review of qualitative studies.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2022Review
- Reliability and validity of the Psychiatric Inpatient Patient Experience Questionnaire - Continuous Electronic Measurement (PIPEQ-CEM).BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Patients' Opinions towards the Services of Pharmacists Based in General Practice.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Quality of Cancer Care in Switzerland: Going Beyond Traditional Quality Indicators by Collecting Patient-Reported Experiences of Cancer Care.Public health reviews · 2022Article
- Article
- Top Priorities for Health Service Improvements Among Australian Oncology Patients.Patient related outcome measures · 2021Article
- Analysis of the Experience-Based Design Feedback Data on a National Scale.Journal of patient experience · 2020Article
- How to implement patient experience surveys and use their findings for service improvement: a qualitative expert consultation study in Australian general practice.Integrated healthcare journal · 2020Article
- Online patient feedback: a cross-sectional survey of the attitudes and experiences of United Kingdom health care professionals.Journal of health services research & policy · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo assess current attitudes towards the national patient survey programme in England, establish the extent to which survey results are used and identify barriers and incentives for using them.
designQualitative interviews with hospital staff responsible for implementing the patient surveys (survey leads).
settingNational Health Service (NHS) hospital organisations (trusts) in England.
participantsTwenty-four patient survey leads for NHS trusts.
resultsPerceptions of the patient surveys were mainly positive and were reported to be improving. Interviewees welcomed the surveys' regular repetition and thought the questionnaires, survey methods and reporting of results, particularly inter-organisational benchmark charts, were of a good standard. The survey results were widely used in action planning and were thought to support organisational patient-centredness. There was variation in the extent to which trusts disseminated survey findings to patients, the public, staff and their board members. The most common barrier to using results was difficulty engaging clinicians because survey findings were not sufficiently specific to specialties, departments or wards. Limited statistical expertise and concerns that the surveys only covered a short time frame also contributed to some scepticism. Other perceived barriers included a lack of knowledge of effective interventions, and limited time and resources. Actual and potential incentives for using survey findings included giving the results higher weightings in the performance management system, financial targets, Payment by Results (PbR), Patient Choice, a patient-centred culture, leadership by senior members of the organisation, and boosting staff morale by disseminating positive survey findings.
conclusionThe national patient surveys are viewed positively, their repetition being an important factor in their success. The results could be used more effectively if they were more specific to smaller units.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.