DefinePK

Abstract

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is measured how well a need was satisfied in relation to the standard of medical care they received. Patients valued assessments and subsequent responses to what they observed in the healthcare environment during the course of their visit were referred to as their level of satisfaction. This study aimed to compare the satisfaction of patients regarding healthcare services provided at public and private Dental Teaching Hospitals of Islamabad.
Methodology: A comparative analytical study was conducted at two teaching hospitals (one private and one public) in Islamabad. This study was approved by ethical review board and written informed consent was taken. A structured survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 250 patients divided equally between two settings. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS 24 for categorical variables (highly satisfied, satisfied, neutral, dissatisfied, and strongly dissatisfied). Overall patient satisfaction (PSQ-18) and its sub-components were assessed. The frequency and percentage were measured for PSQ scale. Average PSQ-18 parameters were compared between public and private hospitals using t-test and ANOVA at significance level of 0.05.
Results: Overall, the mean age was 32.5 ± 12.4 years and females were dominant with 141 (56.4%) cases. The patients from the private facility (65.3 ± 11.4 vs 59.0 ± 8.8) were more satisfied with the healthcare services than the public facility in this study. The general satisfaction and technical aspects were slightly greater in private setting compared to public (7.2 ± 1.5 vs 6.5 ± 1.3) and (14.6 ± 3.1 vs 13.7 ± 2.3) respectively. The sub-components of interpersonal aspects, communication and financial, were found comparable between the two settings.
Conclusion: This study concluded that three-fourths of patients were satisfied or highly satisfied with the dental care. Patient satisfaction was better in the private setting compared to public dental facility. The results have huge implications for undergraduate medical and dental education and practices in terms of need of improved communication skills, time management and technical aspects.