Themes of questionnaire-based studies
| Convenience | Waiting time | Staff attitudes | Confidentiality | Stigma | Information | Clinic infrastructure | Overall satisfaction | |
| Munday17 | Strong preference for evening clinics and late afternoon clinics; more than three-quarters wanted an open access system to remain | 40% male and 41% female would have preferred to be called by clinic number | 50% of females wanted a female doctor; attendance at a GUM clinic is still regarded as a stigma | Majority indicated that each patient should be asked their wishes regarding GP contact | ||||
| Rogstad18 | An appointment system was preferred by 68% of patients and 38% expressed a wish to attend after 17:00 | 9% of women and 3% of men felt there was not enough privacy while being examined | 46% of women and 33% of men preferred a same sex doctor | 99% were satisfied overall with the clinic | ||||
| Hudson16 | Clients preferred the more traditional walk in style of service | 56% preferred to be called by number than by name | 47% of women would have preferred a female member of staff | 7 clients mentioned creche facilities | ||||
| Gupta et al19 | Time of appointment was a cause of concern for a large number of the sample | 93% felt staff were interested in them as people | 17% felt staff had made them feel embarrassed | 45% had not been involved in decisions made about them | 96% felt cleanliness was good to satisfactory | |||
| 13% felt staff were too busy to approach | ||||||||
| Monteiro7 | Most common cited difficulty in attending the clinic was taking time off work | 66–83% had a preference for separate male and female reception areas; women were concerned about their visit being recorded in GP case notes | 30–54% of women preferred to see a doctor of the same sex | Some concern on adequacy of facilities provided for children | Most patients would return in future/recommend to a friend; 89–98% were either satisfied or very satisfied with their clinic visit | |||
| Hope and MacArthur20 | 41.6% had taken time off work or studies to make time to come to the clinic | 98.6% found the clinics to be friendly | 97.5% did not feel the clinic staff thought badly of them because of their sexual behaviour | |||||
| Opaneye9 | 97.5% felt the amount of time spent in clinic was appropriate | 99% and 97.5% were made to feel at ease | 68% and 62.5% would prefer a number rather than their name to be used | Some stigma attached to a person attending a GUM clinic | 56% said information about the clinic was lacking within the hospital grounds; most patients knew about the clinic from their GP | |||
| First impression is very important | ||||||||
| Hope et al13 | No longer in a convenient location would be a reason to leave the service | Majority considered waiting time more than 30 min to be unacceptable | 80% rated a caring clinic as an essential feature of service for GUM users | Anonymity and confidentiality were judged to be essential to the service by a greater number of GUM patients | Majority were satisfied with the standard of outpatient care they had received | |||
| Mashamba and Robson4 | Inconvenient opening hours noted by 7% | 100% satisfied with waiting times | 7% dissatisfied with atmosphere of the centre; dissatisfaction included threatening and unwelcome atmosphere | Significant barrier to accessing services is the stigma attached to being seen at the centre | 2 said they were dissatisfied and that they would not come back or recommend the centre to friends | |||
| Kinn et al8 | Services were much easier to find in 2001 (after integration) | 72% thought that the service was sufficiently confidential | Method of obtaining results was not satisfactory; waiting time for results was not acceptable | Respondents thought that the waiting areas were less crowded, more comfortable and had better signage in 2001 | Increase from 18% to 42% rating the facilities as excellent; 61% were happy with care (2001) | |||
| Challenor11 | 82% were happy to ask questions | Most patients were satisfied with the standard of care received in GUM clinics in southwest Britain | ||||||
| Miles15 | Scores for specific attributes of interpersonal relationship: nurse 4.37/5; doctor 4.24/5 (p = 0.11) | Scores for provision of information 4.5/5 nurse-led 4.29/5 doctor-led (p = 0.015) | Patients were generally satisfied with the care they received; mean satisfaction score: 4.47/5– nurse 4.30/5– doctor | |||||
| Melville et al10 | 39% felt the service should be within 6–10 miles of their home; 35% prepared to travel no more than 5 miles | Waiting area was not discreet enough—concerns that private information might be overheard | 99% said they would prefer to wait for results | Music and a coffee machine in the reception would be good | Majority of patients would choose to attend the same service; overall views were very encouraging | |||
| Mehta et al5 | Almost all patients reported that the clinic staff were helpful and courteous 99% and 97% | Almost all patients reported that the clinician listened, showed respect and spent enough time with them | Lower rating for healthcare was associated with lower rating of technical skills, waiting room and clinic environment; significant proportion of clinic B (42%) rated the waiting rooms as poor | Overall patients at both clinics were satisfied with healthcare service delivery | ||||
| Hayter6 | 90% agreed staff treated them respectfully when they used the clinic | 90% felt able to ask all their questions in the consultation | 77.7% indicated they would tell their girlfriend/boyfriend about the clinic | |||||
| Ingram and Salmon21 | 35% waited up to 30 min to be seen | The welcoming and responsive nature of the staff helped young people feel comfortable | 22 people commented that privacy was what they liked best about the service | 6 people commented “not judging” as what they liked best | 7 people commented “informative” as what they liked best | |||
| Sheriff14 | 18% stated that on some occasions they had been unable to attend their appointment; 87% found appointment times convenient | 100% were seen within 30 min of the appointment time | 33% were offered a chaperone to be present | 41% expressed a strong preference to be contacted by telephone with their results whether negative or positive | ||||
| Perry and Thurston12 | 93% agreed/strongly agreed that the service was in the right place | 86% agreed that the opening hours were acceptable | 99% agreed that the staff were friendly | 90% agreed that the conversations they had were private | 96% agreed that they were happy with the information, help and support given | 93% agreed the waiting areas were acceptable | 96% agreed that they would come back to the service | |
| 85% agreed that they were seen quickly |
Blank cells indicate that information was not assessed in the study, or information was not available.