Validation of a general measure of treatment satisfaction, the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM), using a national panel study of chronic disease.

The objective of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate a general measure of patients' satisfaction with medication, the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM).

The content and format of 55 initial questions were based on a formal conceptual framework, an extensive literature review, and the input from three patient focus groups. Patient interviews were used to select the most relevant questions for further evaluation (n = 31). The psychometric performance of items and resulting TSQM scales were examined using eight diverse patient groups (arthritis, asthma, major depression, type I diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, migraine, and psoriasis) recruited from a national longitudinal panel study of chronic illness (n = 567). Participants were then randomized to complete the test items using one of two alternate scaling methods (Visual Analogue vs. Likert-type).