Assessment of patient satisfaction at traditional medicine hospital in Nepal

Abstract

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted regarding patient satisfaction with outpatient
department (OPD) services at Naradevi Ayurveda hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. A structured questionnaire was
administered to 296 patients attending the OPD during February, 2012. The respondents were aged 18 years and
above. Chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression were performed to analyze the associations between inde-
pendent and dependent variables.
The results show that most of the respondents (74.7%) had low level of satisfaction, and 25.3% of them had
a high level of satisfaction. Other selected variables such as distance from home to hospital, long waiting time,
adequate length of service hours of the OPD and actual expectations were significantly associated with patient
satisfaction (p<0.05). After adjusting the potential factors, it was found that patients who had a low monthly
income were more likely to have high satisfaction with the OPD services (OR=2.65, 95%CI=1.38-5.11). Patients
who had to wait only a short time (OR=2.19, 95%CI=1.16-4.16) or who reported adequate service time (OR=2.53,
95%CI=1.35-4.75) were more likely to have a high level of satisfaction with OPD services.
In conclusion, low income, waiting time and service hours of OPD were the main predictors of satisfaction
with OPD services. Hence, providing the health insurance scheme, increasing access to services at all levels of
health institution, providing quick services, and increasing the length of OPD service hours can help to increase
the level of patient satisfaction with the traditional health care system. Further qualitative and follow-up studies to
further improve the quality of care are also recommended.