DETERMINANTS OF PATIENT SATISFACTION REGARDING HOSPITAL SERVICES: A STUDY OF MIGBARE SENAY GENERAL HOSPITAL

Abstract

Patient satisfaction assessment is essential in obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the patient’s need and their opinion of the service received. It is a fundamental tool in evaluating the quality of healthcare delivery service in hospital. This study was aimed to investigate the determinants of patients’ satisfaction with the health care services provided by Migbare Senay General Hospital (MSGH) and to identify areas for improvement. This study employed a descriptive and exploratory type of research design. The participants in this study were drawn from patients admitted to the hospital using systematic sampling technique. Data from participants was collected using self administered semi-structured questioner and key informant interview. The level of patient’s satisfaction at the Hospital was measured by 5 level Likert’s scale. Linear regression analysis was applied to determine the factors affecting patient satisfaction. Out of 392 expected participants, 336 (85.71%) questionnaires were filled and returned. The descriptive analysis result shows that 69.63% of the patients were satisfied while 18.37% of them dissatisfied with their visit to the Hospital and 11.9% of patient were uncertain. With regard to assessing the association between Patient Satisfaction and multiple independent variables, it was found that physical facilities, registration service, doctor patient interaction, nurse patient interaction, availability and waiting time dimensions have a significant influence on patients’ satisfaction at 95% confidence level and are the predictors of “Overall Patient Satisfaction”. This indicates that there is a need to address this problem by management decision makers, planners, and other related staff to improve patients’ satisfaction at the Hospital.