Patient Satisfaction and Barriers to Nursing Care Quality in Oncology Units

Abstract

Background: Every patient expects safe and quality patient care. A satisfying journey during hospitalization indicates quality care. Nurses provide a significant component of patient care over a long period, compared to any other healthcare professional. This study aims to find patient satisfaction in oncology units and identify the barriers to nursing care quality.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional correlation design was used with 100 cancer patients admitted to oncology units of tertiary care hospital selected by convenience sampling. The Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire was used to assess patient satisfaction, and an investigator-prepared and validated checklist was used to identify barriers to nursing care quality.Results: The study revealed that 50% of patients were satisfied with the overall nursing care quality received during the hospital stay, and the overall barrier score to patient satisfaction for quality nursing care was 33.5%. Overall, 37% of patients were extremely satisfied with the quality of care and services they received during their hospital stay. The findings revealed a statistically significant association between patient satisfaction and the patients' employment status, type of treatment, and duration of stay in the hospital. This study also revealed that workload, lack of time, and inability to speak the local language were the major barriers to patient satisfaction.Conclusions: Patients are the hospital's consumers or customers. For the best results, hospitals should train nurses to communicate in the local language, provide adequate staffing, and adequate training.