Patient satisfaction with the quality of care in Ghana’s health-care institutions

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine patient satisfaction with the quality of care in Ghana’s health-care facilities using a disaggregated approach.Design/methodology/approachThe study was a cross-sectional national survey. A sample of 4,079 males and females in the age group of 15-49 years were interviewed. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis and t-tests were used in statistical analysis.FindingsAbout 70 per cent of patients were satisfied with the quality of care provided in health-care facilities in Ghana, whereas about 30 per cent of patients were fairly satisfied. Females and insured patients were more likely to be satisfied with the quality of care, compared with males and uninsured patients.Research limitations/implicationsBecause data were obtained from a national survey, the questionnaire did not include the type of facility patients attended to find out whether satisfaction with the quality of care varied by the type of health facility. Future studies may, therefore, include this.Practical implicationsThe study contributes to the literature on patient satisfaction with the quality of care. It highlights that long waiting time remains an intractable problem at various service delivery units of health facilities and constitutes a major source of patient dissatisfaction with the quality of care. Innovative measures must, therefore, be adopted to address the problem.Originality/valueThere is a paucity of research that uses a disaggregated approach to examine patient satisfaction with the quality of care at various service delivery units of health facilities. This study is a modest contribution to this research gap.