Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the validity and reliability of a patient satisfaction questionnaire designed to measure the quality of care in university podiatry clinics, and to analyze the perception of care quality in this teaching-assistance setting. DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: University Podiatry Clinic at the University of A Coruña (CUP-UDC), Spain. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred and fifteen adult users capable of completing a questionnaire on podiatric care quality, selected through consecutive sampling. The rejection rate was 4.3%. INTERVENTIONS: The "Quality of care in the clinical area of podiatry questionnaire" was used, specifically designed to measure the quality of care in university podiatry clinics. It evaluated clinical aspects, information, administration, facilities, timing, and accessibility on a 5-point Likert scale. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. RESULTS: The overall mean score was 4.48±0.34 ("Good"). Factor analysis revealed six dimensions instead of the original five, suggesting a more valid structure. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's alpha of 0.881). The best-rated factors were "Care", "Procedures" and "Clinical aspects".' Item correlations showed some differences from the original study, highlighting a strong correlation between care received and staff friendliness. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate high satisfaction with care at CUP-UDC. The analyzed instrument proved to be valid and reliable for assessing care quality in the university podiatry setting from the service user's perspective. The new factor structure provides a more detailed view of the factors influencing care quality, offering valuable information to improve clinical practice and podiatry training.