Article Published In Vol.6 (Sept-Oct-2018)

Patient satisfaction, one of the levers for the health services performance: Contribution to scientific evidence, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo

Author : Adrien Malandj Kes, Nonon Mulubwa Kyalubile, Mujinga Kashala, Katshiza Tshisand, Henri Mundongo Tshamba, Andre Ndala Nyiongonyi, Françoise Malonga Kaj

The study objectives were to determine the level of patient’s satisfaction, to evaluate the health care quality, to identify factors associated with the satisfaction and the impact on the hospital performance. It was conducted between 01-July-2016 and 01-July-2017, in Lubumbashi city. This is a cross-sectional study including 423 patients. The interview using a questionnaire with the Likert scale and direct observation allowed the data collection. Analyses were performed using Excel 2013, EPI INFO 7 and SPSS 21. The Student t test, the Levene test and the Khi square test allowed comparison of means, variances and proportions. The odds ratio was calculated for some variables and the significance level set at p ≤ 0.05 and 95% CI. The analysis of the validity and reliability of the questionnaire made by calculating the Cronbach α coefficient, the number of dimensions of the questionnaire with a principal component analysis (PCA), the correlation coefficient, the Bartlett test and the measurement accuracy of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin sample were calculated. The study results show that 6% of hospitalized patients were very satisfied and only 47% satisfied. Patients who felt they were well received, were satisfied overall with 56% and 47% of the patients who judged the reception and the rooms comfort of poor quality at the first contact declared a dissatisfaction. This observation indicates that the first contact is crucial for patients. Moreover, we observed that more than 70% of the satisfied patients, the organizational aspects the waiting line management reducing the wait time, the communication between patient and heath staff on the therapeutic approach, the patient participation in the care process and decision, individualization of care were crucial (p = 0.000). In addition, the policy of quality management has led to costs and price increases, but on the other hand, the care demands by patients have remained insensitive to this increase in costs and the level of satisfaction quite high for patients who have benefited care in these services (p = 0.000). The survey reveals that quality for the patient is a concept related to his satisfaction. Quality management provides a competitive advantage for healthcare institutions and improves the level of patient satisfaction and services utilization, one of the levers of health service performance.

Keywords: Satisfaction, Patients, Performance Lever, health services, Lubumbashi, DRC