International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to test empirically a framework that contributes to the understanding of patients' satisfaction by estimating the relationships between the satisfaction of particular types of customers with their emotions and perceived justice.

Design/methodology/approach – The study was developed in two segments. First, an exploratory analysis was conducted to find a factor structure and to test the psychometric properties of satisfaction and perceived justice scales. After that the hypothesized model was tested through an empirical study, with a sample of 520 patients from six Portuguese public healthcare services, using structural equation modelling.

Findings – The results show that the scales are psychometrically sound and confirm that satisfaction results from a complex cognitive and affective mechanism, thus highlighting the interactive characteristics of the services.

Research limitations/implications – Further research is needed to confirm these findings and to find if there is any possible conditioning factors that would interfere with these variables and change their effects on satisfaction.

Practical implications – Patients' satisfaction is an important issue for improving the provided healthcare services.

Originality/value – The paper offers empirical evidence about the complementary effect of emotions and perceived justice on the satisfaction with healthcare services. Findings also provide a model of analysis with valid and reliable measures.