West Afr J Med. 2026 Apr 30;43(1):29-34.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is the extent to which a healthcare facility fulfils patients’ expectations. It is a critical and integral part of patient-oriented healthcare, serving as a key indicator for measuring the quality of care provided to patients. Assessing patients’ satisfaction with care is a way of obtaining feedback from patients, which can be a measure of the effectiveness of healthcare services. This study aimed to assess the level of patient satisfaction with services received at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Jos, Plateau State, to improve healthcare services.
METHODS: The study was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted in the Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BHUTH). The BHUTH is a private tertiary hospital located in Plateau State’s capital city of Jos, the North-central region of Nigeria. Participants were selected conveniently from the outpatient clinics and wards. The data was collected using the Long-form Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ-III) and included the participants’ sociodemographic characteristics. There are seven domains in the PSQ-III, namely General satisfaction, Technical quality, Interpersonal care, Communication, Financial aspects, Time spent with the doctor, and Access/availability/convenience. Data collected was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 27.
RESULTS: There were 236 respondents. A little more than half (51.7%) of the patients were in the 18 – 39 years age group, and more (59.7%) were females. A majority (62.7%) of the responders had attained a tertiary level of education. The overall patient satisfaction rate was 67.6%. Only 52.5% of patients reported having a high general satisfaction, 56.4% were highly satisfied with the financial aspects of healthcare services, and 86.0% had high satisfaction with the communication.
CONCLUSION: This study has revealed an overall average patient satisfaction. Among the domains of satisfaction assessed, communication had the highest rate of satisfaction, and the financial aspect of healthcare services was among the lowest rates of patient satisfaction. These findings can help prioritize strategies for improving healthcare services.
PMID:42177807
