Patient satisfaction and its associated factors in newly diagnosed adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a cross-sectional study in Norway

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to explore the patient satisfaction among adults recently diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at an outpatient mental health centre. The secondary aim was to investigate the relative contribution of demographic characteristics, ADHD symptom severity, general self-efficacy, and perceived quality of diagnosis-specific information to overall patient satisfaction. From April 2017 to January 2019, cross-sectional data were obtained from 56 adults recruited from an outpatient mental health centre after being diagnosed with ADHD. Patient satisfaction was measured using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8). ADHD symptoms were measured using the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale 6. Self-efficacy was measured using the General Self-Efficacy 6 for ADHD, and perceived quality of diagnosis-specific information was measured using a single-item measure used in earlier research. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relative contribution of the included variables. The mean satisfaction score of the sample on the CSQ-8 was 24.1, indicating medium satisfaction. Another 42.9% were satisfied “to a small extent” or “not at all” with the information they had received about ADHD. Satisfaction with ADHD-related information was the only variable significantly associated with overall patient satisfaction after adjustment for the other variables in the model (standardised β  = 0.71). The regression model explained 43% ( Adj.R 2 = 0.43) of the variance in overall patient satisfaction. Our findings indicate an association between satisfaction with diagnosis-specific information and overall patient satisfaction among adults with ADHD. Given the cross-sectional design and small sample size, further research is needed to determine the direction and nature of this relationship.