Long-Term Implementation of Accreditation Standards in Children’s Hospitals and Family Satisfaction: A Comparative and Sensitivity Analyses Study

Abstract Background Several countries have developed their national accreditation programs to enhance the outcomes of their healthcare institutions. Family satisfaction (FS) has been perceived as an indicator of the quality of the provided healthcare services in hospital settings. This study assessed the FS for families of hospitalized pediatric clients from two accredited children's hospitals and examined differences in those FS levels based on the accreditation statuses of those two hospitals (i.e., long-term vs. recent-accreditation statuses). Methods A cross-sectional comparative design was adopted using a modified Arabic version of the Family Satisfaction with Care in the Intensive Care Unit Scale (FS-ICU). Family members of clients from inpatient pediatric wards and pediatric intensive care units from two hospitals with varying accreditation statuses (i.e., long-term vs. recent-accreditation statuses), from the same accrediting institution, were recruited. A sensitivity analysis was employed to confirm study findings. Results The average FS scores for the pooled sample were 65 (SD = 16.6), 69.4 (SD = 20.2), and 66.5 (SD = 17.4) for the overall satisfaction, satisfaction with care, and satisfaction with decision-making subscales, respectively, indicating an above-average satisfaction for the whole sample from both hospitals. Statistically significant differences were noticed between family members from the two hospitals in terms of the overall satisfaction scores (M = 70.8, and M = 59.1), p .001; satisfaction with care scores (M = 76, and M = 61.5), p .001; and satisfaction with decision-making scores (M = 70.6, and M = 61.5), p .001. Conclusion This study revealed higher satisfaction among family members of clients admitted to a long-term accreditation status children’s hospital, compared to a children’s hospital that was only recently accredited.