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Patient Perception And Satisfaction With Healthcare Professionals At Primary Care Facilities
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1.2 Statement of the problem
Health facilities at all levels of
care are required to provide quality health care that meets the
expectations of their clients. This is however, not so throughout the
country. Provider-client relationship has been very poor resulting in
growing concern among clients about the quality of care. The MOH (2007)
in its national health policy document identifies complaints from users
about the abusive and humiliating treatment by the health providers and
shortages of equipment, consumables supplies and some essential drugs as
some of the challenges of the health services. The national health
policy document reveals that some health facilities are efficient,
delivering high quality services and being responsive to the needs of
their clients, but many are not.
To monitor and improve the quality
of care by health professionals in the health facilities, the Nigerian
Health Services recommends client satisfaction surveys by health
facilities at least twice in a year.
Even though, some client
satisfaction surveys have been conducted, annual reports show that it
has not been able to do it twice a year. It is therefore not known how
sustainable quality improvement efforts have been throughout the
year.The health centres and clinics in the country have not been
conducting client satisfaction surveys.The level of quality of care by
professionals is therefore not known in these facilities, hence this
study on patient perception and satisfaction with healthcare
professionals at primary health care facilities.
1.3 Justification
Client
satisfaction data is an important tool for quality improvement.This
study describes client perception and satisfaction with health care
professionals as a means of measuring quality of health care in Enugu.
In addition to evaluating client perception and satisfaction with
services provided by health professionals, it also elicits which service
areas are priorities for improvement. It will also help bridge the gap
between clients‘ expectations and the actual service they receive.
Seeking clients’ opinions of the current level of service will ensure
client focus in service delivery. This is necessary in ensuring high
level of quality of service delivery.
This study will also help the
health facilities to initiate policies and programs that can lead to
improved client-provider relationship which will result in increased
utilization and revenue generation. It will also serve as a baseline
study, since no such study describing the quality of care across the
various levels of care has been done in the area.
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