Influential Determinants of Patient Satisfaction with Primary Health Care Services from Community Clinics: A Micro Survey in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Assessing patient satisfaction with community clinic (CC) services can contribute to promotion of quality of care. This study aimed to investigate the satisfaction level of patients with CC services and to identify the influential determinants of patient satisfaction in a rural area of Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study using simple random sampling without replacement was carried out in 2019 on 310 patients who have received services from CCs in Haripur upazilam, Bangladesh. The patients completed a questionnaire consisting of 17 items on variables related to patient satisfaction. The items were scored using a 5-point Likert scale and patients' socioeconomic and demographic characteristics were also recorded. To examine the association of patient satisfaction with other selected determinants, the Chi-square (χ2) test was performed. To assess the net effect of determinants on satisfaction level, multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results: Overall mean satisfaction level was 3.70±0.982. We found that 68.9% were satisfied and 31.1% were unsatisfied with the services. Moreover, 63.92% of females and 77.48% of males were satisfied. In addition, 70% of individuals aged 15-30 years, 69.28% of those aged 31-45 years, and 57.89% of patients aged 46-65+ were satisfied with the services. According to the results of the Chi-square test, gender, occupation, receiving necessary medicine, receiving essential treatments, waiting time, behavior of the CC staffs, hygienic atmosphere, internal environment, female health worker visits, and difficulties faced when taking service from CC were significantly associated with patient satisfaction. Conclusion: Given the important role of patient satisfaction for improving quality of care, it is recommended to cogitate the influential factors when planning for public health promotion.