Factors influencing inpatient satisfaction with public health services at a regional hospital, Durban, eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Determining the factors that influence patient satisfaction and measuring patient satisfaction levels with public health care services offers the prospect of addressing patient dissatisfaction with health services. Although patient satisfaction has long been established as an indicator of quality in healthcare and an important measure of health services performance, the literature suggests that patient satisfaction levels amongst inpatients in public health services in South Africa are low. In this research, a cross-sectional study design was conducted using a survey questionnaire distributed to a random sample of adult patients who had spent at least 24hrs as inpatients, prior to leaving the hospital, with the aim to determine the factors associated with satisfaction and measure patient satisfaction levels at this hospital.