Abstract
Background Patient satisfaction is an imperative and commonly used indicator for measuring the quality of healthcare. Patient satisfaction with psychiatry services is an important construct, which influences multiple areas including treatment adherence and outcome. The aim of the present study was to assess the level of patient satisfaction and determine associated factors with psychiatric outpatient care. Method An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 15 to May 15, 2017. A total of 250 psychiatric patients visiting psychiatric outpatient care in University of Gondar Specialized Hospital during the study period were included in the study. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and entered to and analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA with post hoc test were used to determine the characteristics of the participants and examine the difference among different variables. P value<0.05 and confidence interval (CI) of 95% were used as cut-off points for determining statistical significance. Results During the one-month data collection period, 250 participants (92.593% response rate) were included in the analysis. Majority (133 (53.2%)) of them were males and cannot read and write (107 (42.8%)). Majority (194 (77.6%)) of study participants were satisfied with the outpatient care. The overall level of satisfaction among participants was good with a mean satisfaction score of 3.87. Majority (173 (69.2%)) of the participants claimed that health professionals working in outpatient care did not provide adequate information about payment for services. Statistically significant satisfaction difference with respect to the psychiatric outpatient care was found in the type of mental illness (t=2.224, P=0.043) and the participants' employment status (t=2.981, P=0.003). Conclusion In general, the overall participants' satisfaction towards outpatient care was high. Statistically significant satisfaction difference with respect to the psychiatric outpatient care was found in the type of mental illness and the participants' employment status. Regular service evaluation is important to improve patient satisfaction and further research is needed to investigate why satisfaction difference exists among different types of mental illnesses.
Highlights
Patient satisfaction is an imperative and commonly used indicator for measuring the quality of healthcare
In the present study out of 270 patients who were interviewed 250 were included in the analysis, and 20 encounters were excluded due to incompleteness making the response rate 92.59%. From those included in the study 143 (45.2%) of the participants were in the age range of 18-30 years and cannot read and write 107 (42.8%)
Majority of the participants were either self-employed or unemployed and their monthly income is less than 500 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) (Table 1)
Summary
Patient satisfaction is an imperative and commonly used indicator for measuring the quality of healthcare. The aim of the present study was to assess the level of patient satisfaction and determine associated factors with psychiatric outpatient care. Majority (194 (77.6%)) of study participants were satisfied with the outpatient care. Majority (173 (69.2%)) of the participants claimed that health professionals working in outpatient care did not provide adequate information about payment for services. Significant satisfaction difference with respect to the psychiatric outpatient care was found in the type of mental illness and the participants’ employment status. Patient satisfaction is usually used as an indicator for measuring the quality of healthcare It affects medical management condition, patient maintenance, and clinical outcomes.
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