A Cross-Sectional Study On Patient Satisfaction Toward Services Received At Rural Health Center, Chandigarh, North India

Background : Shortcomings in the delivery of primary health care services at state-run centers and more dependence on private health care service providers has resulted in lesser utilization rates. Feedback from patients is vital if deficiencies are to be identified and improvements achieved. This study attempts to assess client satisfaction of the PHC services provided by a rural health training center. Objectives : The main objective of the study is to measure the satisfaction of OPD patients at a rural health center, and also (1) to know the relationships between the various determinants and OPD patients satisfaction and (2) to correlate patient satisfaction with the sociodemographic profile. Materials and Methods : A cross-sectional study was done to assess the satisfaction of services provided at the rural health center which caters to population of around 40,000. The response was rated on a 5-point Likert scale. SPSS version 15 was used to analyze the data. Average satisfaction of each patient was taken and the overall mean and SD was calculated to know about the overall satisfaction. Results : The mean age is 33.45 +/- 10.719 years. The mean waiting time for consultancy was 11.84 +/- 8.932 min. The mean consultation time by the physician was 6.06 +/- 3.002 min. The mean waiting time for drugs is 5.93 +/- 5.213 min. Only 28.5% were highly satisfied with the available lab investigations. 58.5% of the clients were highly satisfied with the doctor's relationship with the patients. 63% felt that adequate privacy was given during consultation. Conclusions : The results of the present study showed that although the overall satisfaction was high, some aspects of services indicated some degree of dissatisfaction.