Assessment of patient satisfaction after counseling by a health care provider before emergency Cesarean section in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is one of the most frequently reported outcome measures for quality of health care. In recent years, effective counseling has become a very important tool to involve patient participation in decision-making. The objective of this study was to assess the patient satisfaction by the counseling of a health care provider before emergency cesarean section (C-section) in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire study of 53 women, who had their first babies by C-section or had C-section first time with previous normal deliveries, in Hamdard University hospital in 3 months. Data analysis: Questionnaires were distributed among patients on their second postoperative day after emergency C-section. A good total response rate for patient satisfaction survey is in the 40 to 60% range. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20 was used to analyze the data, patient satisfaction was analyzed by using descriptive statistics (%, frequency), and independent sample t-test and analysis of variance were applied to assess the satisfaction level for demographic indicators. Results: Out of 53 women, 38 (71.7%) were satisfied with the counseling while 15 (28.3%) were dissatisfied; 35 (66%) were primigravida while 17 (32%) were multigravida. The majority was in the age group of 25 to 30 (41%) years; 21 (39.6%) were undergraduate, out of them 12 (55.2%) were satisfied; 32 (60.3%) were graduate, out of them 26 (82%0) agreed; 46 (86%) participants know their counselor; and 44 (83%) reported good attitude. A safe atmosphere was created by the counselor in 38 (71.7%) cases, and 24 (45%) participants reported that the counselor used medical jargons. Privacy was not maintained in 39.6%, and 18 (33.9%) reported negative feelings like anxiety and depression after their counseling. Conclusion: Patient satisfaction is an important quality outcome indicator to measure success of the health care services. Evaluation of patient care is vital to provide opportunity for improvement like strategic framing of health plans.