MST-Department of Health Management & Informatics

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Browsing MST-Department of Health Management & Informatics by Author "Katuti, Catherine Syombua"

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    Patient Level of Satisfaction with Perceived Health Service Quality in Nyandarua County Referral Hospital
    (Kenyatta University, 2018) Katuti, Catherine Syombua
    Perceived health services quality and patient satisfaction are two important health indicators for measuring health system performance. Meeting the needs of the patient and maintaining acceptable healthcare standards are imperative to achieving high quality health care which makes the patient to be the center of healthcare’s quality agenda. While perceived quality of health services affects utilization of services, there is still a gap in literature on the level of customer satisfaction in the public health sector of Kenya, particularly with the implementation of devolution of health services to the counties. Therefore, the general objective of this study was to investigate patient level of satisfaction with perceived health services quality in Nyandarua County Referral Hospital, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were: (1) To determine the level of patient satisfaction with health service delivery in Nyandarua Referral County Hospital; (2) To find out patients perceptions on quality of health service in Nyandarua County Referral Hospital; and (3) To determine health system factors predicting perceived quality of health service delivery in Nyandarua County Referral Hospital. This study used a descriptive cross-sectional study design employing both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Data were collected from 334 outpatients using systematic sampling technique where an exit interview was conducted on every 12th patient. In addition, simple random sampling was done to select 55 inpatients using a daily discharge register. Purposive sampling design was used to select at least 20 key informants for the study who included Sub-County Health Management Team, facility in-charges and heads of departments in Nyandarua County Referral Hospital. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS Version 20 while qualitative data were analyzed thematically using Nvivo. The results indicated patient satisfaction with perceived quality of services of 56%. Specifically, staff competence in handling patient problems, health staff friendliness, availability of prescribed drugs in the hospital pharmacy, patient privacy during treatment and patient waiting time were important aspects in influencing patient satisfaction. In conclusion, patient satisfaction rated lowest on empathy, responsiveness and reliability on services offered. Thus, there is need to improve reliability, responsiveness and empathy of the services to improve perceived quality of services and patient satisfaction at the facility.