An exploratory study was done with descriptive comparative components to examine the levels of consumer satisfaction at a mental health center, and there was also the intent to determine if satisfaction or dissatisfaction in one area of service affected the general satisfaction level. In addition, other variables and demographic data included in the questionnaire were examined.
Data collection was done by the use of a 23-item questionnaire that was administered to three departments of service, Outpatient, Drug Abuse, and Day-care, at North Orange County Mental Health Services. The sample group consisted of any adult in treatment who had made three or more visits to the clinic and who voluntarily filled out a questionnaire. The staff was also asked to participate in order to compare their assessment of the services with actual client ratings. Ninety six consumers and 22 staff members returned questionnaires.
Significantly high levels of satisfaction were shown at the clinic with the combined consumer satisfaction level being 75.28%, thus validating the hypothesis of high ratings. Areas of high satisfaction were \"satisfaction with therapist and abilities\" and \"methods of billing and payment.\" Possible areas of discontentment were \"wait in the waiting room,\" \"improvement since starting therapy,\" and \"involuntary treatment.\" In order to look at the individual areas of service and their effect on the general satisfaction levels, a Consumer Satisfaction Index was formed. Of the five questions compared against the index, \"wait in the waiting room\" and \"methods of billing and payment\" significantly affected the index.
Other findings were there was little interest in the relocation of the clinic; individual services were found most helpful; and although consumers found other mental health services to be useful, direct services were most important. Those consumers that filled out the questionnaires were largely white-Anglo, young, single adults with moderate income in the middle occupational status group. The clinic also serves many clients on public assistance. Those clients with the greater number of visits to the clinic perceived the greatest improvement since starting treatment. The open-ended comments and suggestions at the end of the questionnaire were largely complimentary to the services with frequent change of therapist being the most frequent complaint.
The returns from this questionnaire were mostly in line with previous studies from other Mental Health Services; however, a replication of the study with better control to assure better returns would be recommended.
","abstract_html":"<p>An exploratory study was done with descriptive comparative components to examine the levels of consumer satisfaction at a mental health center, and there was also the intent to determine if satisfaction or dissatisfaction in one area of service affected the general satisfaction level. In addition, other variables and demographic data included in the questionnaire were examined.</p> <p>Data collection was done by the use of a 23-item questionnaire that was administered to three departments of service, Outpatient, Drug Abuse, and Day-care, at North Orange County Mental Health Services. The sample group consisted of any adult in treatment who had made three or more visits to the clinic and who voluntarily filled out a questionnaire. The staff was also asked to participate in order to compare their assessment of the services with actual client ratings. Ninety six consumers and 22 staff members returned questionnaires.</p> <p>Significantly high levels of satisfaction were shown at the clinic with the combined consumer satisfaction level being 75.28%, thus validating the hypothesis of high ratings. Areas of high satisfaction were "satisfaction with therapist and abilities" and "methods of billing and payment." Possible areas of discontentment were "wait in the waiting room," "improvement since starting therapy," and "involuntary treatment." In order to look at the individual areas of service and their effect on the general satisfaction levels, a Consumer Satisfaction Index was formed. Of the five questions compared against the index, "wait in the waiting room" and "methods of billing and payment" significantly affected the index.</p> <p>Other findings were there was little interest in the relocation of the clinic; individual services were found most helpful; and although consumers found other mental health services to be useful, direct services were most important. Those consumers that filled out the questionnaires were largely white-Anglo, young, single adults with moderate income in the middle occupational status group. The clinic also serves many clients on public assistance. Those clients with the greater number of visits to the clinic perceived the greatest improvement since starting treatment. The open-ended comments and suggestions at the end of the questionnaire were largely complimentary to the services with frequent change of therapist being the most frequent complaint.</p> <p>The returns from this questionnaire were mostly in line with previous studies from other Mental Health Services; however, a replication of the study with better control to assure better returns would be recommended.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hare, Sandra M."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Nursing","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Esther Sellers","Frances Pride","Anees Haddad"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1976,"date_issued":"1976-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"1976-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:54:10Z","subjects":["Health Services Research","Mental and Social Health","Nursing","Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing","Mental Health Services; Consumer Satisfaction"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/1558","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Esther Sellers","Frances Pride","Anees Haddad"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hare, Sandra M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Nursing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Health Services Research","Mental and Social Health","Nursing","Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing","Mental Health Services; Consumer Satisfaction"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/1558"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["An exploratory study was done with descriptive comparative components to examine the levels of consumer satisfaction at a mental health center, and there was also the intent to determine if satisfaction or dissatisfaction in one area of service affected the general satisfaction level. In addition, other variables and demographic data included in the questionnaire were examined.
Data collection was done by the use of a 23-item questionnaire that was administered to three departments of service, Outpatient, Drug Abuse, and Day-care, at North Orange County Mental Health Services. The sample group consisted of any adult in treatment who had made three or more visits to the clinic and who voluntarily filled out a questionnaire. The staff was also asked to participate in order to compare their assessment of the services with actual client ratings. Ninety six consumers and 22 staff members returned questionnaires.
Significantly high levels of satisfaction were shown at the clinic with the combined consumer satisfaction level being 75.28%, thus validating the hypothesis of high ratings. Areas of high satisfaction were \"satisfaction with therapist and abilities\" and \"methods of billing and payment.\" Possible areas of discontentment were \"wait in the waiting room,\" \"improvement since starting therapy,\" and \"involuntary treatment.\" In order to look at the individual areas of service and their effect on the general satisfaction levels, a Consumer Satisfaction Index was formed. Of the five questions compared against the index, \"wait in the waiting room\" and \"methods of billing and payment\" significantly affected the index.
Other findings were there was little interest in the relocation of the clinic; individual services were found most helpful; and although consumers found other mental health services to be useful, direct services were most important. Those consumers that filled out the questionnaires were largely white-Anglo, young, single adults with moderate income in the middle occupational status group. The clinic also serves many clients on public assistance. Those clients with the greater number of visits to the clinic perceived the greatest improvement since starting treatment. The open-ended comments and suggestions at the end of the questionnaire were largely complimentary to the services with frequent change of therapist being the most frequent complaint.
The returns from this questionnaire were mostly in line with previous studies from other Mental Health Services; however, a replication of the study with better control to assure better returns would be recommended.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Consumer Satisfaction with Services in a Mental Health Center"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Esther Sellers","Frances Pride","Anees Haddad"],"dc:creator":["Hare, Sandra M."],"dc:description.abstract":["An exploratory study was done with descriptive comparative components to examine the levels of consumer satisfaction at a mental health center, and there was also the intent to determine if satisfaction or dissatisfaction in one area of service affected the general satisfaction level. In addition, other variables and demographic data included in the questionnaire were examined.
Data collection was done by the use of a 23-item questionnaire that was administered to three departments of service, Outpatient, Drug Abuse, and Day-care, at North Orange County Mental Health Services. The sample group consisted of any adult in treatment who had made three or more visits to the clinic and who voluntarily filled out a questionnaire. The staff was also asked to participate in order to compare their assessment of the services with actual client ratings. Ninety six consumers and 22 staff members returned questionnaires.
Significantly high levels of satisfaction were shown at the clinic with the combined consumer satisfaction level being 75.28%, thus validating the hypothesis of high ratings. Areas of high satisfaction were \"satisfaction with therapist and abilities\" and \"methods of billing and payment.\" Possible areas of discontentment were \"wait in the waiting room,\" \"improvement since starting therapy,\" and \"involuntary treatment.\" In order to look at the individual areas of service and their effect on the general satisfaction levels, a Consumer Satisfaction Index was formed. Of the five questions compared against the index, \"wait in the waiting room\" and \"methods of billing and payment\" significantly affected the index.
Other findings were there was little interest in the relocation of the clinic; individual services were found most helpful; and although consumers found other mental health services to be useful, direct services were most important. Those consumers that filled out the questionnaires were largely white-Anglo, young, single adults with moderate income in the middle occupational status group. The clinic also serves many clients on public assistance. Those clients with the greater number of visits to the clinic perceived the greatest improvement since starting treatment. The open-ended comments and suggestions at the end of the questionnaire were largely complimentary to the services with frequent change of therapist being the most frequent complaint.
The returns from this questionnaire were mostly in line with previous studies from other Mental Health Services; however, a replication of the study with better control to assure better returns would be recommended.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/1558"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"dc:subject":["Health Services Research","Mental and Social Health","Nursing","Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing","Mental Health Services; Consumer Satisfaction"],"dc:title":["Consumer Satisfaction with Services in a Mental Health Center"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Nursing"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:54:10Z"}