Assessing patient satisfaction. Part 1. The research process

Summary• The research reported in this article formed part of a project evaluating nursing developments in four demonstration wards in one health authority, and the article focuses on evaluation of patient satisfaction. • The evaluation of patient satisfaction is a topic surrounded by much methodological debate and therefore it was necessary to clarify the issues involved at the planning stage of the study. • The ‘process’ aspects of evaluating patient satisfaction will be discussed here, while the content of patient interviews will be the subject of Part 2.