The Structure of Satisfaction with Pharmacy Services

The objectives of this investigation were to evaluate the dimensional structure of satisfaction with pharmacy services, to determine whether satisfaction is best viewed as a unidimensional or multidimensional construct, and to determine the degree of correspondence between a general satisfaction scale and satisfaction with specific aspects of pharmacy services. Data were collected via telephone interviews of 509 patrons of traditional retail pharmacies and analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. The hypothesized, multidimensional measurement model fit the observed data reasonably well. However, correlations between the latent dimensions of satisfaction with pharmacy services indicated that some dimensions were empirically indistinguishable. Considering item content and theoretical considerations, modifications to the structure of previously used measures of satisfaction with pharmacy services were suggested. The data also support the hypothesis of a hierarchical model in which general satisfaction could be simultaneously represented as both an overall domain and as a set of distinct dimensions tapping unique aspects of satisfaction with pharmacy services. Depending on the purpose of the measurement, either or both levels of analysis may be useful.