Abstract: Patient Centered is providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions that will lead to state of pleasure or contentment with an action, event or services providing desired needs to satisfy the patients. Delivering service quality has significant relationship with customer satisfaction. However, the poor state of customer service in some public hospitals and faith-based hospitals in Kenya has resulted in high turnover and weak morale among staff, problems with patients care, increased cost of operations due to inefficiencies leading some patients to look for an alternative provider and to spread negative word of mouth which affects potential clients hence growth of the hospitals. This situation is further worsened by the patients or customers perception of functional issues which they perceive and interact with during the course of seeking treatment such as physical facilities, internal process; interactions with doctors, nurses and other support staff as poor and unresponsive. Nairobi being metropolitan centre with high population provided the opportunity for the study and Kiambu being reasonable rural provider centre may be influenced by Nairobi. Public and Faith-based hospitals are preferred since they handle patients from all classes and with various health problems.
Objectives: To identify health care quality dimensions for patients satisfaction in Public and Faith Based hospitals in Kiambu and Nairobi Counties, Kenya.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of health care quality dimensions for patients satisfaction in public and Faith based hospital in Kiambu and Nairobi Counties in Kenya was conducted. A total of 384 patients were interviewed, 238 from public and 146 from faith-based hospitals, and 276 were female and 146 male. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were used. Interviews were conducted to solicit information on dimensions that satisfies patients on health care service. Qualitative data was categorized into structure, process and outcome and then the qualitative data was analyzed using Atlas. ti ( Atlas text interpretation). Atlas.ti is a software program was developed by Thomas Muhr in Berlin and released commercially in 1993. It is data software program that enables a researcher to manage and analyze qualitative data.
Results: Results on dimensions shows that Faith-based hospitals had many satisfies as compared to public hospitals these were cleanliness of the environment, availability of equipment, maintenance of physical structure, adequate meal, availability of drugs and services, caring, courtesy, efficiency, doctors attitude and low mortality and morbidity rate while in public hospitals were cost of services, adequate meal, doctors attitude and interpersonal skills. The results also confirmed that Faith-based hospitals (94%) compliance was higher than public hospitals (68%) to Ministry of Health Quality Standards.
Conclusion: The study revealed that major dimensions of patient’s satisfaction in Faith-based were cleanliness of the environment, availability of equipment, maintenance of physical structure, adequate meals, availability of drugs and services, caring, courtesy, efficiency, doctors attitude and low mortality and morbidity rate while in public hospitals major dimensions of patient’s satisfaction were very few as compared to Faith-based they included; cost of services, adequate meals, doctors attitude and interpersonal skills. The study revealed that there was high compliance to Ministry of Health Quality Standards in Faith-based hospitals and low in public hospitals.
Keywords: Health Care Quality, Dimensions for Patients Satisfaction, Public and Faith Based Hospitals.
Title: Health Care Quality Dimensions for Patients Satisfaction in Public and Faith Based Hospitals in Kiambu and Nairobi Counties, Kenya
Author: MARGARET WANDERA NYONGESA
International Journal of Healthcare Sciences
ISSN 2348-5728 (Online)
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