Inpatient satisfaction in Pakistan

What is it about?

Objective: To observe inpatient satisfaction at different public sector hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out during 2010–2012 in four major public sector hospitals of Karachi. A total of 710 patients completed the study. Responses were gathered in a self- structured questionnaire that comprised of four dimensions of satisfaction with doctor, staff, adminis- tration and treatment. Average Score of each dimension was taken and compared using one way analysis of variance. Result: Satisfaction with doctors, staff and administration of provincial and federal hospitals were comparatively similar (P > 0.05). However, satisfaction with treatment significantly differed in all four hospitals (P < 0.0001). Highest satisfaction with treatment was observed among inpatients of hospital running by medical institute (P < 0.0001). Comparison with respect to different departments revealed significant difference for treatment satisfaction of medicine and surgery units. Patients who were admitted from emergency mode acquired lowest satisfaction in all aspects. Conclusion: Response of inpatients from public sector hospitals showed satisfaction with healthcare personnel and related administration. However, treatment dimension needs to be improved to get more satisfaction.

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Why is it important?

There is a dire need to conduct good quality health-based surveys with patient satisfaction remaining the major outcome to deduce quality of a health-care setup. Due to lack of resources, public sector hospitals of developing countries endeavor to establish good quality of care in various aspects.

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