Satisfaction with Orthopaedic Services at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

Background: Patient satisfaction is associated with continuing receipt, adherence, and patient health outcomes. Study assessed the level and factors associated with orthopaedic ppatient satisfaction with care from a tertiary health facility.

Method: Descriptive cross-sectional study among adult recipients of orthopedics care at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). Consecutive patients who encountered services at the orthopaedic department from March to June 2020 completed the questionnaire on their satisfaction with services at the various stations (medical records, nurses, general practice doctor, orthopaaedic doctor, laboratory, radio imaging and pharmacy services) on a 5-point Likert’s scale - very dissatisfied, dissatisfied, indifferent, satisfied and very satisfied. Study assessed patients’ overall satisfaction, willingness to recommend facility and system responsiveness. Scale reliability was determined by the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted and p-values ≤0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 430 of the 442 questionnaires distributed were returned giving a response rate of 97.3% and a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.84. Respondents’ mean age was 38.5 ±14.8 years with a range of 18-89 years. More were first time visitors (57.7%), cases related to bone fractures (28.4%) and joint pain (26.0%). More patients (32.1%) expressed dissatisfaction with radiology services with significant disparity in level of satisfaction (χ2 = 18.87; p-value = 0.002) across service stations and likelihood of recommending facility (χ2 = 17.70; p= 0.003) among patients with various orthopaedic complaints.

Conclusion: Patients’ satisfaction with orthoapedic services vary across service stations, primary complaints, and perception of system responsiveness. More efforts at addressing the provider-related variables may improve satisfaction ratings and increase the demand for orthopaedic care.