ASSESSMENT OF PATIENT SATISFACTION WITH NURSING CARE QUALITY AMONG PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HOSPITALS

Abstract

Background: Patient satisfaction has become an important indicator of the quality of care delivered to patients while in the hospital. Patient satisfaction surveys can help identify ways of improving nursing and health care services. Objective: The study aims to assess the patient satisfaction with nursing care in selected public and private hospitals. Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 inpatients admitted to general medical, surgical, and gynaecological wards of selected private and public hospitals at Hayatabad, Peshawar. Ethical approval was taken from both hospitals, Northwest General Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex. The data were collected by a pre-structured questionnaire of The Sharma’s Patient Satisfaction Measurement (SPSM) Scale (Cronbach's alpha 0.89). The data were analysed using SPSS version 26 and presented using descriptive and inferential statistics. Result: It was found that the mean patient satisfaction with nursing care score was significantly higher in private hospitals (70.46 ±19.11) as compared to public hospitals (47.88±15.58) (P<0.001). Patient satisfaction with nursing was not different across selected medical, surgical, and gynaecological units; however, it was significantly higher in all private hospital units than in public hospital units (P<0.001). Conclusion: However, communication and offering emotional support dimensions of nursing care had the lowest score in both private and public hospitals. Therefore, it is recommended to plan and implement the training programs needed for nurses to improve their knowledge and skills of communication and use of emotional support measures for the patients.