International Journal of Body, Mind and Culture (Jun 2023)

Patients’ Satisfaction with Quality of Health Care Services in Primary Health Care Centers in Baghdad, Iraq

  • Hamsa Jamal Mahdi,
  • Hayder Sadiq Baker,
  • Ghassan Bahir Abdulkareem

DOI
https://doi.org/10.22122/ijbmc.v10i2.510

Abstract

Read online

Background: Patient satisfaction with primary health care (PHC) represents a key marker for the quality of health care delivery and this internationally accepted factor needs to be studied repeatedly for smooth functioning of the health care systems. This study was conducted to assess patient satisfaction level with quality of health care services provided by PHC centers in Baghdad, Iraq. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 67 PHC centers in Al-Rasafa district of Baghdad City from April to July, 2016. The convenience sampling method was used to select the participants. A total of 67 PHC centers were selected from nine health sectors in Al-Rasafa district, out of a total of 120 centers, and interviewed with well-structured close-ended questions. Data analysis involved calculating descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations (SDs), and ranges. To determine the significance of differences in percentages, we employed the Pearson chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate. Results: A total of 325 patients participated in the study. The overall satisfaction rate was 70.16%. The highest score of satisfaction for the aspect of services was for physician services (76%), and the lowest score was for the nurse services (55.3%) and the other health care facilities (access, appointment, and building aspects) (53%) . Conclusion: Overall, the majority of patients expressed satisfaction with services provided by doctors, pharmacies, and laboratories. However, nursing care services received lower satisfaction ratings. The lowest levels of satisfaction were observed in relation to access, appointment, and building aspects. Socio-demographic characteristics did not exhibit a significant association with patient satisfaction. These findings highlight the importance of improving nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and skills, particularly in areas such as patient education and emotional support.

Keywords