Predictors of Patient Satisfaction With Quality of Healthcare in University Hospitals in Ghana

Abstract

1. Background In recent years, findings of studies in developed countries on the quality of healthcare delivery have increasingly influenced developing nations in assessing the quality of their healthcare systems. Outcomes from these findings have received special prominence as a measure of quality healthcare. 1 Assessing outcomes has merit both as an indicator for the effectiveness of different health interventions and as part of a monitoring system directed at improving the quality of care and detecting its deterioration. 2,3 Quality assessment studies over three decades usually measure one of three types of outcomes: costs, medical outcomes, or patient satisfaction. 4,5 Patient satisfaction has gained greater importance specifically in developing countries. It is both a service quality indicator and a quality component. Strong healthcare systems enable healthcare providers to deliver better quality and value to patients. 6,7 Over the years, Ghana's Ministry of Health (MOH) has been concerned about quality of care, which has a strong resultant effect on client satisfaction. However, the pace of improvements in quality of care has been slow, partially because quality improvement activities have received inadequate priority. In lieu of this, there have been efforts to research quality of healthcare services, of which patient satisfaction is an indicator, and the institutionalization of quality assurance in Ghanaian healthcare facilities. 8,9 In Ghana, many of the studies on healthcare quality have focused on quality award dimensions. 10-13 Studies conducted in public hospitals over the years have provided substantive evidence that the quality of healthcare services is inadequate both by objective measures in the opinions of patients and by healthcare providers. 14,15 Moreover, research on quality healthcare has generally reported poor service delivery through long waiting times, frequent shortages of drugs, and the poor attitudes of healthcare providers as factors militating against patient satisfaction with healthcare in Ghana. 9,13 In view of this, the continuous monitoring and evaluation of policyholders' views on the quality of healthcare is necessary for quality improvement purposes; it will provide some kind of feedback for healthcare professionals and policymakers. An extensive empirical search revealed that a single study has been conducted on patient satisfaction with quality healthcare using a comparative approach with focus on institutional facilities (university hospitals) in Abstract Background: For over 2 decades, Ghana's Ministry of Health (MOH) has been resolved to continuously improve the quality of healthcare in a cost-effective manner. Strategies have been adopted to enhance client satisfaction with healthcare services and delivery. Objective: The current study examined patient satisfaction with the quality of healthcare in Ghana by comparing healthcare services at the University of Ghana Hospital (UGH) and the University of Cape Coast Hospital (UCH). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014-2015 with primary data collected from patients at UGH and UCH. Structured questionnaires were administered based on the stratified and convenience sampling methods to select patients receiving healthcare at the outpatients departments of the 2 hospitals. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data with the help of SPSS version 20. Results: The findings indicated that empathy (β = .14, P = .003), communication (β = .26, P = .00), culture (β = .17, P = .008), tangibles (β = .12, P = .040), and priority (β = .18, P = .002) are significant predictors of patient satisfaction. Conclusion: Management at the 2 studied hospitals should streamline their quality healthcare policies based on the dimensions of effective communication, empathy, culture, tangibles, and priority to enhance patient satisfaction.