Proportion and factors influencing client satisfaction with delivery services in health facilities in the Sissala East Municipality, Ghana: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Background and Aims Client satisfaction is the difference between the healthcare services delivered and the needs of the client. Anecdotal evidence suggests the quality of maternal health and delivery services in Ghana especially in the Upper West Region is appalling. Moreover, there is a paucity of data on clients' satisfaction with maternal and delivery services rendered by healthcare. This study, therefore, assessed clients' satisfaction with delivery services and their associated factors. Methods This analytical cross‐sectional study included 431 women who had delivered in the last 7 days from four health facilities within Sissala East Municipality using a multistage and simple random sampling technique. A well‐structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic and client satisfaction data. All statistical analyses were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 26.0 and GraphPad Prism Version 8.0. A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Clients’ satisfaction with general delivery services was rated as 80.3% and was significantly associated with process‐related factors ( p < 0.0001) and structural‐related factors ( p < 0.0001) of the health facilities. This study found that health facilities' delivery services differed significantly and were associated with clients’ satisfaction ( p < 0.0001). Moreover, age group ( p = 0.0200), occupation ( p = 0.0090), kind of delivery ( p = 0.0050), and delivery outcome ( p < 0.0001) were significantly associated with client satisfaction with delivery services. Conclusion More than two‐thirds of women are satisfied with delivery services within selected health facilities in the Sissala East municipality, although satisfaction within health facilities differs. Furthermore, age group, occupation, kind of delivery, delivery outcome, process, and structural‐related factors significantly contribute to client satisfaction with delivery services. To provide more comprehensive coverage of customers' satisfaction with delivery services in the municipality, strategies such as free maternal health initiatives and health education on the significance of facility delivery should be reinforced.