CLIENT SATISFACTION AMONG PEOPLE RECEIVING HIV/AIDS CARE FROM SAINT MARY CATHOLIC HOSPITAL ELETA IBADAN OYO STATE

Abstract

Quality of healthcare has become a topical issue and the need to see an improvement in the healthcare delivery system in many countries has become critical. Delayed access to services, sub-optimal adherence, low retention rate and poor outcomes of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) have been observed in many low-income countries. Measurements of client satisfaction could help evaluate the performance of health service delivery, identify patients who need additional attention or targeted interventions, and predict treatment adherence and outcomes. This is imperative to increase the role of private sector in HIV care and treatment. Despite increasing availability and accessibility to HIV/AIDS care services, there are limited data on perceptions on aspects of service. The study was therefore conducted to investigate client satisfaction among persons receiving HIV/AIDS care from Saint Mary’s Catholic Hospital Eleta, Ibadan, Oyo State. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among attended ART clinic from August to September 2014. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 300 consenting clients for this study. A validated, semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire used for data collection included items on socio-demographics, level of satisfaction and suggestions for improvement. Using a 44-item instrument, patients’ satisfaction was assessed on three domains as follows: State of physical facility, quality of service and willingness, courtesy and individualized attention of health staff towards clients. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 respondents who had been receiving care for more than 2 years. Data analyses were done using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and logistic regression at p=0.05. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. Age was 37.9±10.2 years, 73.0% were females, 42.0% had secondary education and 97.% were on ART. Concerning the state of physical facility domain, 56.0% agreed that the physical facility was visually appealing, 3.3% were indifferent and 0.3% disagreed. More than half (57.3%) strongly agreed that they get regular supply of drugs on the domain of quality of service. On willingness, courtesy and individualized attention of health staff towards clients, 45.0% strongly agreed that health staff were friendly and polite. More than half (59.7%) agreed that the health staff included them in decisions about their treatment while 15.4% disagreed. Majority (96.3%) were satisfied with care provided by doctors, laboratory scientists (99.7%), pharmacists (86.3%), nurses (86.0%) and counselors (73.3%). Suggestions proffered for improvement included employment of more health care workers (30.0%) and adequate funding for support groups (10.0%). There was a significant association between length of time of respondents (<7years) at the health facility and satisfaction with regular supply of drugs. Those who were married (85.3%) were less likely to be satisfied with regular supply of drugs (OR=0.3; CI=0.13-0.57). Qualitative data revealed majority of the participants were satisfied with most of the services rendered. However, they reported dissatisfaction with inadequate health care workers, poor funding and attitude of some health staff. Health/AIDS care services rendered at Saint Mary’s Catholic Hospital was perceived as satisfactory. However, the need to improve on these services, recruitment of more staff and adequate funding is recommended.