Assessment of Satisfaction with Postnatal Care Services Among Women Who Delivered In Embu Hospital, Embu County, Kenya
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Date
2021
Authors
Wachira, Joyce W.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Satisfaction among patients has progressively been acknowledged as a salient outcome within the delivery system of health care and there are numerous studies being done among developing countries. Majority of the women report low satisfaction with the postnatal care services compared to the other maternity care phases. The World Health Organization advocates that the women‟s satisfaction should be surveyed as a tool geared towards improvement of effectiveness and quality of maternal health care. The purpose of the study was assessment of satisfaction with the postnatal services offered in Embu Hospital among women who delivered in this facility. This study was directed by the following specific objectives; determining women‟s satisfaction with postnatal care services, determining influence of socio-demographic factors on women‟s satisfaction with postnatal care, establishing health system factors influencing satisfaction of postnatal women and establishing the influence of perceived quality of care on women‟s satisfaction. Research design used was descriptive cross-sectional. The population studied were postnatal women 15-49 years who had delivered in Embu hospital. The study applied systematic random sampling method and the sample size was 225 respondents. A structured client exit questionnaire, interviews with key informants and focused group discussion guide were used to collect data. Pretesting was done in Chuka hospital to ensure validity of the instruments. Reliability of research tools was decided through test-retest strategy. Authority to conduct this research was obtained from the Kenyatta University Ethical Review Committee and approval acquired from the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation. The study generated both quantitative and qualitative data. The statistical package for social scientists (SPSS version 20) was used for data coding and entry and analysis through descriptive and inferential statistics. Percentages, frequencies and cross tabulations were adopted to present data. The study outcomes uncovered that most women 54.6% were satisfied with postnatal care services provided with only 45.4% being dissatisfied. Findings from this study also showed that socio-demographic factors like age (P=0.759), marital status (P=0.667), education level (P=0.717), occupation (P=0.194) and monthly income (P=0.385) did not have a significant relationship with women‟s satisfaction with postnatal care. The study noted that the health system factor that influenced postnatal women‟s satisfaction was comfort and care (P= 0.008). Pertaining influence of perceived quality on satisfaction, it was noted that women from the FGD‟s associated quality with tangibles like clean hospital environment, availability of resources and staff. Majority of the key informants ranked the quality of postnatal services as good. The study concluded that some women 45.4% were still dissatisfied with the postnatal care services provided in this facility. The study recommends that the county government in liaison with the hospital administration should have frequent patient satisfaction surveys which can help to provide feedback to customers hence improving the satisfaction of the clients. Recruitment and employment of more qualified staff by the county government to enhance the quality of postnatal care provided.
Description
A Research Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Master of Public Health (Reproductive Health) in the School Public Health and Applied Human Sciences of Kenyatta University
September, 2021
Keywords
Postnatal Care Services, Among Women, Embu Hospital,, Embu County, Kenya