Comparative Assessment of Patient Satisfaction With Obstetric Sonography Between Missionary and Government Hospitals in Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Patient satisfaction with obstetric sonography may indicate the quality of services rendered in the sonographic suite. A comparative assessment of the quality of services between government and missionary hospitals in southeastern Nigeria is not known. The aim of this study was to compare the satisfaction rating during obstetric sonography between government and missionary hospitals in Nigeria. Seven hundred pregnant mothers who had obstetric sonography at least twice in both missionary and government hospitals were recruited for the study between January and June 2010. Questionnaires completed by patients were designed to obtain information on demographic variables, as well as patient satisfaction ratings of some indices of satisfaction that the sonographer and the managers of health institutions could modulate. The variables were friendliness of sonographers with the patients, patient waiting time, patient comfort within the waiting area and in the scanning suits, patient safety, sonographer-patient communication, and protection of patient privacy. Patients undergoing obstetric sonography were moderately satisfied with the services rendered to them in missionary hospitals but moderately dissatisfied with the services in government hospitals.