RESEARCH ARTICLE
Factors Influencing Patient Satisfaction with Healthcare Services Offered in Selected Public Hospitals in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Content P. Nyakutombwa1, Wilfred N. Nunu1, 2, *, Nicholas Mudonhi1, Nomathemba Sibanda1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2021Volume: 14
First Page: 181
Last Page: 188
Publisher ID: TOPHJ-14-181
DOI: 10.2174/1874944502114010181
Article History:
Received Date: 25/9/2020Revision Received Date: 3/2/2021
Acceptance Date: 17/3/2021
Electronic publication date: 20/04/2021
Collection year: 2021
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Introduction:
Patient satisfaction with health care services is vital in establishing gaps to be improved, notably in public health facilities utilised by the majority in Low and Middle-Income Countries. This study assessed factors that influenced patient satisfaction with United Bulawayo Hospitals and Mpilo Hospital services in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 99 randomly selected respondents in two tertiary hospitals in Bulawayo. Chi-squared tests were employed to determine associations between different demographic characteristics and patient satisfaction with various services they received. Multiple Stepwise Linear regression was conducted to assess the strength of the association between different variables.
Results:
Most of the participants who took part in the study were males in both selected hospitals. It was generally observed that patients were satisfied with these facilities' services, symbolised by over 50% satisfaction. However, patients at Mpilo were overall more satisfied than those at United Bulawayo Hospitals. Variables “received speciality services,” “average waiting times,” and “drugs being issued on time” were significant contributors to different levels of satisfaction observed between Mpilo and United Bulawayo Hospitals.
Conclusion:
Generally, patients are satisfied with the services and interactions with the health service providers at United Bulawayo Hospitals and Mpilo Hospitals. However, patients at Mpilo were more satisfied than those at United Bulawayo Hospitals. There is generally a need to improve pharmaceutical services, outpatient services, and interaction with health service provider services to attain the highest levels of patient satisfaction.
