Patient satisfaction after antenatal joint fetal medicine and pediatric surgery counseling

Abstract

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to find out the level of satisfaction among couples receiving antenatal counseling provided jointly by fetal medicine specialists and pediatric surgeons. Materials and Methods: This was a questionnaire-based observational study. A total of 110 consecutive couples who were antenatally diagnosed with fetal structural anomaly and received counseling by fetal medicine specialist and pediatric surgeon together, were given a validated patient satisfaction questionnaire (PSQ-18) after delivery to assess their level of satisfaction regarding the antenatal care they received. Results: A total of 120 couple responded to the questionnaire, mean gestational age at delivery was 33.8 ± 7.14 weeks. In PSQ, 75.8% gave high scores for general satisfaction, maximum subjects provided high scores for interpersonal manner (IM) (77.5%) and communication (77.5%), and the least number gave high scores for time spent with the doctor (50.8%) and accessibility (42.5%). The technical quality (TQ) subscale was significantly high for the stillbirth/abortion group compared to live birth (P = 0.020). Significantly high scores for TQ (P = 0.037) and IM (P = 0.023) were obtained in the <20 weeks group. Conclusion: The joint counseling provided good interaction opportunity to the couple but still fell short of their expectations regarding time spent with the doctor and their accessibility.