Assessment of patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services in a Nigerian teaching hospital

Abstract

Objective To assess patients' satisfaction with pharmaceutical services using an“ideal referent” model, and to further explore the validity of an existing patient satisfaction instrument. Method A cross‐sectional survey was conducted with a sample of 500 outpatients recruited consecutively at the University of Benin teaching hospital, Nigeria. A self‐completion questionnaire that employed a Likert‐type scale was used. Data were used to calculate scores on a scale that ranged from 20 to 100, with an assumed midpoint of 60. Descriptive statistics on the sample characteristics and questionnaire items were computed including means, standard deviations and frequency distributions. Varimax rotation with Kaiser normalisation was employed in principal factor analysis. Student's t‐test and one‐way ANOVA were used for inferential statistics. Key findings The instrument reliability was determined to be 0.9641 and was comparable to the reference study. Nearly half of the patients (46%) rated the amount of time the pharmacist offered to spend with them as poor. About one‐third rated promptness of prescription service as poor. Only 49% felt satisfied with the pharmaceutical services. Overall, pharmacy services received a satisfaction rating of 56.04±24.49, below the midpoint. Perceived satisfaction was significantly higher in “friendly explanation” than in “managing therapy” (t=3.916; P<0.0001). Conclusion The study provides evidence that patients experience low satisfaction with current pharmaceutical services at the study hospital. The sociodemographic characteristics of patients were not associated with their level of satisfaction. We further confirm the validity of the patient satisfaction questionnaire in a Nigerian practice setting.

Satisfaction of patients: A right to health indicator?

“…-Were shown to contribute decisively throughout the world to the evaluation of the quality of care as well as the acceptability of pubic health programs [17]. -Have allowed better understanding of the expectations and wishes of patients from different cultural contexts and different health systems [10][11][12]35,36]. -Have proved of value in promoting change of attitudes and behaviors of health personnel [15,18].…”

Outcomes of pharmaceutical care intervention to hypertensive patients in a Nigerian community pharmacy

“…The hypertension therapy questionnaire ('yes' or 'no' response scale) was developed for this study while assessment of patient satisfaction was based on the twenty-item questionnaire developed by Larson et al and also validated in a Nigerian study. 15,16 The patient satisfaction questionnaire was anchored on: excellent ¼ 5, very good ¼ 4, good ¼ 3, fair ¼ 2, and poor ¼ 1. In order to reduce investigator bias, pharmacy supportive staff introduced the questionnaires to the patients who were asked to complete them at home; this was also to reduce the effect of pharmacy environment on their responses.…”

“…Based on previous reports, the patient satisfaction questionnaire was grouped into two subscales namely 'friendly explanation' and 'managing therapy'. 15,16 The pharmaceutical care intervention improved patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services in the two components of satisfaction. The 'friendly explanation' component had mean total score of 3.48 AE 0.83 (midpoint, 3.00; range 1 to 5).…”

Attitude and Practice of Community Pharmacists towards Pharmaceutical Care in Nigeria

“…Earlier in 2002, some elements of pharmaceutical care activities such as medication history taking, blood pressure measurement among others was reported to have been practiced by some community pharmacists in Benin City. 17 Low satisfaction of patients with pharmaceutical services without pharmaceutical care has been reported as well. A study in Kaduna reported a deficit in practice of pharmaceutical care, a positive attitude towards pharmaceutical care and lack of competence to practice pharmaceutical care.…”