Assessing the Validity and Reliability of Persian Version of DQS (Dental Satisfaction Questionnaire)

Background and Objectives: Satisfaction is a valuable measure of the quality of care and the patient-provider relationship. The Dental Satisfaction Questionnaire is a valid and international instrument for evaluating dental satisfaction. The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Dental Satisfaction Questionnaire.   Methods: Upon assuring the precision of Persian translation, assessment of face and content validity was performed using the opinion of 10 patients and 10 experts. The validated questionnaire was then distributed among 300 patients attending the dental clinics using multistage cluster sampling. Factor analysis was used to assess the structure validity of the questionnaire and to elicit the factors predicting total satisfaction. Cronbach’s alpha was used for assessing the reliability of the questionnaire.    Results: After some changes in some questions, the face and content validity of the questionnaire were confirmed. Factor analysis revealed 7 domains could determine 61.3% of total variance, including clinical quality, service quality, availability of care, pain management, cost, access, and empathy and responsiveness of dentists. Correlation of each domain with the total satisfaction was above 0.4. The mean satisfaction was 60.6 ±9.1. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.74.   Conclusion: The Persian version of the DSQ is a valid, reliable, and appropriate instrument for evaluation of dental satisfaction of Iranian population. The elicited domains could properly determine the total satisfaction.