ABSTRACT
User satisfaction surveys are currently placed as one of the main strategies for participation, protection and defense of the rights of users of public services, despite the existence of a set of evidences reported in the international literature more than four decades ago, question the legitimacy of such approaches. The present essay aims to contribute to the understanding of some neglected aspects of the meaning of user satisfaction surveys and their results, particularly the paradox of high satisfaction found as a result of these surveys. This phenomenon will be analyzed through an analogy with opinion polls, discussing the hypothesis that the high satisfaction, described in the literature, may represent an artifact of research resulting from a problematic imposition, in the sense discussed by Bourdieu (1973) and Champagne (1998). The answers obtained do not necessarily correspond to social representations or perceptions regarding the services, but to the reactions of the users to the research situation, being characterized as a forced response to the conditions of the surveys.
KEYWORDS
Consumer behavior; Health services research; Patient Satisfaction