Patient satisfaction with referral service and associated factors among public hospitals in and around Addis Ababa, Central Ethiopia

Objective: Studies in sub-Saharan Africa have shown that patient satisfaction with referral procedures and systems is low due to multiple factors. Despite the challenges on patient satisfaction with referral service in Ethiopia, there are only limited studies on overall satisfaction and associated factors with referral services of the hospitals. The purpose of this study was to determine patient satisfaction with referral services and related characteristics among patients referred to referral hospitals in Central Ethiopia, in the year 2021. Methods: A facility-based multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted at public hospitals in and around Addis Ababa using both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The hospitals were selected using a simple random sampling method from the list. Data were collected from 317 referral forms and chart reviews, 310 patient interviews, 27 focused group discussions, and 16 insider observations. The collected data were coded and entered into EPI INFO version 7 and transferred to SPSS version 25 for further analysis. Both binary and multivariable logistic regression models were computed to see the association between independent versus outcome variables. The findings were taken as significant with a p value of <0.05 at 95% confidence interval and results were presented with text, graphs, figures, and tables. Result: Overall level of patients' satisfaction of referral services in Central Ethiopia was 73.5%, confidence interval (67.9%-81.1 %,) and near 85% of the participants had got an examination by the respective health care worker on arrival. This study identified that factors that increase odds of patient satisfaction toward referral services were status of communication (adjusted odd ratio 44.09 (95% confidence interval, 5.47, 355.68), perceived level of experience of health providers who handle the referral process (adjusted odd ratio 6.42 (95% confidence interval, 1.20, 34.42) and coordination status of the hospitals during referral acceptance (adjusted odd ratio 35.50 (95% confidence interval, 4.87, 258.60) and these were significantly associated with patient's satisfaction toward referral services. Referral without communication among hospitals was stated as the leading challenge by focused group discussants and very limited practice on referral feedback was reported by insider observers. Conclusion: This study determined that the overall level of patient satisfaction toward referral services in Central Ethiopia was moderate with identified factors that increase odds of patient satisfaction toward referral system being the way of communication, health provider's experience, and coordination status of the hospitals on referral acceptance. Hence, policymakers and the ministry of health would better consider the aforementioned factors during referral program development and training for improvement of patients' satisfaction with referral services.