Consumer-oriented evaluation of the service provided by the department of health education and information in Alexandria, Egypt.

Abstract

Assessing consumers' satisfaction with health education services can help in monitoring the quality of provided service and understanding consumers' perceptions and utilization patterns of the service. A cross-sectional descriptive study targeting consumers attending the health education sessions provided by Alexandria Department of Health Education and Information (DHEI) at different governmental health facilities and nongovernmental organizations was performed. A simple random sample of 400 participants was interviewed using an interview questionnaire assessing respondents' socioeconomic characteristics, health literacy, attitude toward health education services, and satisfaction with the health education service provided by the DHEI. Approximately 70% of the consumers' sample showed fair health literacy level. Most of the sample mentioned physicians a credible source of health knowledge followed by 58.8% who selected health education sessions as another trusted health information source. Overall, 90% of the sample was highly satisfied by the service overall. Behavior and skills of the service providers were the most satisfying aspects, whereas health education materials obtained the least satisfaction. Consumers' educational level and healthcare affordability proved to have a significant positive influence on their satisfaction (β=0.307 and 0.191, respectively) whereas occupation and family income showed a significant negative influence (P<0.001). The service provided by Alexandria DHEI is highly satisfying to its target audience mainly in terms of providers and accessibility. Enhancing the technical skills of the department staff through training is highly recommended. The department is also recommended to advocate for the credibility of social workers and health visitors as health educators among the community.