Written Assignment Requirements: 12 Pt. Times New Roman

Written Assignment Requirements: 12 pt. Times New Roman Double Space All

A nursing home has decided to conduct a short survey to assess whether the family members who are responsible for an elderly resident are satisfied with the care being given. A portion of the survey is listed below. 1. How often do you visit your relative? – Daily, 3 to 4 times a week, 2 to 3 times a week, Less than once a week. 2. Please rate each aspect of care: Nursing quality, Room cleanliness. Do you like our newsletters and phone call updates? – Yes, No. 4. Why do you think we are the best nursing home in the area? – ____________________________. 5. Please tell us your age: – Under 25, 26 to 35, 35 to 50, 51 to 65, Over 65.

Critique this survey, paying attention to the wording of the questions, response choices, and response scales. Explain what is right or wrong with each question, referencing concepts from Chapter 5. Your critique should be at least one page and include relevant concepts from your studies of customer satisfaction surveys, question design, and measurement validity.

Paper For Above instruction

The survey designed by the nursing home to assess family satisfaction with resident care exhibits several strengths but also notable weaknesses that could compromise its validity and reliability. Effective survey design is crucial to obtain accurate, unbiased, and actionable data. From a methodological perspective, questions must be clear, non-leading, and aligned with the information the organization seeks to gather. Analyzing each survey item reveals opportunities for refinement, especially with regard to question wording, response options, and measurement scales.

The first question asks, “How often do you visit your relative?” with multiple-choice responses. This question generally functions well as an indicator of visitation frequency, which can correlate with satisfaction; however, the response options could be expanded or clarified. The current choices lack a “once a week” option, which is a common visitation pattern, and grouping “less than once a week” is vague—does it include “once every few weeks” or “once a month”? Clarifying and adding more specific intervals such as “once a week” or “once every two weeks” could yield more precise data. Additionally, the question assumes that frequency of visits correlates directly with satisfaction, which may not always be true, thus requiring interpretation within the survey analysis.

The second question involves rating aspects of care, namely nursing quality and room cleanliness, but it suffers from ambiguous phrasing. The phrase “Please rate each aspect of care” implies that multiple aspects will be rated, but only two are listed (nursing quality and room cleanliness). It would be more effective to specify a Likert scale (such as 1-5 or 1-7) to measure satisfaction levels uniformly across categories. The instruction should also clarify how respondents should indicate their ratings, for example, “Please rate each aspect on a scale from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent), with 5 being the best.” Furthermore, assessing only two care aspects neglects other critical domains like responsiveness, staff attentiveness, or safety, which are vital to comprehensive satisfaction measurement.

Question three asks about “newsletter and phone call updates,” with binary response options (Yes/No). While straightforward, this question is limited because it does not explore respondents’ preferences or perceptions about communication quality, frequency, or usefulness. A better approach might be to use a Likert scale for satisfaction with communication, e.g., “How satisfied are you with the communication from the nursing home?” rated from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied). Additionally, closing such a question with an open-ended follow-up asking what improvements could be made would provide richer data.

Question four asks, “Why do you think we are the best nursing home in the area?” This open-ended question aims to elicit qualitative insights. However, it presumes that respondents will have a specific reason or set of reasons, which might not always be the case. The question might lead to socially desirable responses or be too broad for respondents to provide focused feedback. Including prompts, such as “please specify quality of care, staff friendliness, amenities, or other factors,” could elicit more detailed and useful responses. Also, such open-ended questions are harder to analyze quantitatively but are valuable for in-depth understanding.

The final question about age options presents inconsistencies. The options are “Under 25,” “26 to 35,” “35 to 50,” “51 to 65,” and “Over 65.” The grouping “35 to 50” and “Over 65” overlaps with other categories since “Over 65” is not encompassed by any of the preceding options, which might lead to respondent confusion. The age brackets should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, for example: “Under 25,” “26-35,” “36-50,” “51-65,” and “Over 65.” Also, the age question's placement among satisfaction questions might be better positioned at the beginning of the survey, as demographic data are often collected beforehand to contextualize responses.

In summary, several improvements could enhance this survey’s effectiveness. These include clearer wording, more precise response options, appropriate scaling, and a balanced combination of quantitative and qualitative questions. An effective survey should minimize ambiguity and bias while capturing comprehensive data relevant to resident and family satisfaction. Proper framing of questions, such as avoiding leading or double-barreled questions, as discussed in Chapter 5, is essential for collecting valid data that can guide quality improvements in healthcare settings.

References

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