Methodology
Joint Display Method for Patient Surveys Reveals Deeper Insights Into Patient Satisfaction
Background: Many patient surveys include both numerical ratings and written comments, responses that are frequently analyzed separately, which can limit what researchers learn from the data. This report demonstrates a method for analyzing survey ratings and open-text comments together. Researchers used survey data from Alberta, Canada’s Long COVID Interprofessional Outpatient Program (IPOP), which provided multidisciplinary care for adults with COVID-19 infection and symptoms lasting at least 12 weeks.
What They Found: A total of 360 surveys were completed by 306 patients across three IPOP clinics. Overall satisfaction scores were high, with the following results::
45% of respondents reported being very satisfied with their most recent visit
29% were satisfied
11% were neutral
8% were unsatisfied
7% were very unsatisfied
Researchers created a “joint display” table that placed satisfaction scores alongside the themes from qualitative feedback. Examining the responses together revealed patterns between satisfaction ratings and patient experiences that were not visible from the numeric scores alone. For example, some patients indicated high satisfaction scores while still expressing concerns about their care. Other patients chose low satisfaction rates but still provided suggestions for improvement.
Implications: For this long COVID program evaluation, pairing satisfaction scores with open-text comments gave a fuller view of patient experience than scores alone.
When High Scores Hide Realities: Enhancing Patient Survey Data Through Joint Display
Meaghan Brierley, PhD, et al
Health Systems Knowledge and Evaluation, Acute Care Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The Annals of Family Medicine
23-Mar-2026