Abstract

Developing instruments that allow patients to evaluate healthcare services within their cultural and systemic context has become increasingly essential. Understanding the psychological effects of medical procedures and patients' perceptions of care is critical for improving quality and enhancing standards in healthcare delivery. This study presents the development of the Anesthesia Process Satisfaction Scale (APSS), a patient-reported outcome instrument designed to comprehensively assess satisfaction with anesthesia services in Türkiye. Item generation was guided by previous research and refined through expert consultations to ensure cultural relevance and conceptual clarity. During the development process, relevant literature was reviewed, and feedback was obtained from two anesthesiologists and one anesthesia technician regarding the draft version of the scale. Their evaluations confirmed that the items were appropriate and clinically relevant. Additionally, a pilot study was conducted with five patients who had undergone surgery within the past 24–48 hours to assess the clarity, adequacy, and representativeness of the items in capturing the anesthesia process. A total of 324 patients participated in the study, of whom 314 were included in the final analysis. The sample consisted predominantly of female patients (60.9%), with a mean age of 32.1 ± 10.8 years. The final scale comprises nine dimensions: overall satisfaction, fear of anesthesia, comfort, practitioner behavior, fear of the procedure, preoperative clinic process, information, trust, and postoperative symptoms. Psychometric evaluation demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.92) and strong construct validity, with a total explained variance of 72.1%. Among the demographic and clinical variables examined, the type of surgery was associated with the greatest variation in subscale scores. The APSS provides preliminary evidence of reliability and construct validity while reflecting cultural specificity in the evaluation of anesthesia services.

Key words: Healthcare, anesthesia, psychometrics, satisfaction, scale development, validity, reliability