The user satisfaction survey: consumer evaluation of an inner city community mental health center.

The consumer movement has become a recognized force in American society. Yet consumer evaluation of community mental health services has largely been ignored or avoided particularly when users lack political or social power. As a first step toward increasing the accountability of providers to community users, a User Satisfaction Survey was developed. The 30-item scale is straightforward and requires 15 to 20 minutes to complete. The scale was field tested by 114 users of the adult outpatient services of an inner city community mental health center in Washington, D.C.