Factors associated with patients satisfaction regarding nursing care at the selected public hospitals in the Mopani District, Limpopo Province

Abstract

Background: Patient satisfaction with nursing care is regarded as a significant factor in defining the perception of the quality of health care service received. In South Africa, and many other countries globally, the drive to deliver health services that attest to quality has become an incentive for obtaining the views of patients and determining their levels of satisfaction. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with patients’ satisfaction regarding nursing care provided at the selected public hospitals in the Mopani District, Limpopo Province. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to identify and describe factors associated with patients’ satisfaction regarding nursing and to determine their satisfaction with the nursing care. Method/Design: The study applied a quantitative descriptive and cross-sectional design to determine and describe the factors associated with patient satisfaction regarding nursing care. A simple random sampling method was applied in the selection of the 201 respondents in the selected public hospitals. A self-administered questionnaire, the Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care Scale was used to collect data from inpatients. The software used to analyse the data is Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program. Permission to collect data in the public hospitals was granted by the Limpopo Department of Health while ethical clearance was obtained from the Turfloop Research Ethics Committee. Results: The study found that 77% of the respondents indicated relatively high levels of satistfaction with the nursing care they received while 23% indicated significant dissatisfaction with their nursing care. Greater satisfaction was noted with regard to the following aspects of the nursing care: nurses’ respect of patients’ rights (89%); I have been given privacy by nurses (88%); nurses deliver care competently (87%) and nurses are skillful in performing procedures (86%). The study showed no relationship v between the gender, age, educational level and employment status of the respondents and their satisfaction in the domains of affective support, health information, professional-technical competencies and decisional control. However, a there was notable association between marital status and patients’ satisfaction in the decisional control domain. The wards to which patients were admitted to were also found to be associated with their satisfaction in the affective support domain Conclusion: The predominant factor contributing to the satisfaction of the respondents in this study was affective support. This was followed by professional technical competencies. Most respondents indicated dissatisfaction with the health information and decisional control afforded to them, particularly with regard to nurses’ involvement of the family in care. Key concepts: Patient, patient satisfaction, nursing care