Instruments
To assess the patient satisfaction with health care, an adapted version of the Patient Satisfaction with the Interview assessment Questionnaire (PSIAQ) developed by Delvaux and his colleagues was used. This instrument is designed to measure three important dimensions of clinical communication (presentation, information and support) and presents good psychometric qualities: for satisfaction with facilitating and listening factors a Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.84 and for the satisfaction with informing and reassuring factors a value of 0.72. Questions are presented using a four-point Likert, and the maximum satisfaction score is 4.
The Portuguese version of the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) permitted to evaluate patient’s subjective wellbeing22. The scale is a 4-item scale with high internal consistency and good to excellent reliability22. Responses were made on a 7-point scale, measuring to what extent does the characterization describe them.
An original questionnaire assessed knowledge about dysphagia and the patient’s knowledge about the adaptations in the consistency of food.
Authorization was requested and obtained from the ethics committee of two hospitals with acute hospitalization. All the patients received oral and written information about the study protocol and signed an informed consent form.
Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics, using SPSS-24.0 software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). For the comparison of the two groups, the Mann-Withney test was applied and for comparison of the moment before and the moment after the intervention, the Wilcoxon test was applied for a population median. The binomial test was used in the association of the information questions patients have about dysphagia as a function of the group.