Assessment of antiretroviral treatment (ART) care service provision in Tigray Region health centers, North Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundClient satisfaction is a vital component and main concern intertwined with strategic decisions in service provisions. To improve efficiency of services, eliciting the opinion of users about the available services and identifying factors associated with dissatisfaction is very critical. Thus, the main objective of this study was to assess the perceived levels of clients’ satisfaction with health services at ART clinic level in health centres of Tigray Region in Ethiopia.MethodsCross sectional study was conducted from May to June 2013 in Tigray Region ART clinics. A total of 714 ART care user were included in the study using both purposive and probability sampling technique. Data was collected by using structured questionnaire and the collected data was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. Crude and Adjusted logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify the associated factors underlying perceived levels of clients’ overall satisfaction. Finally, the results were presented with table as well as odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI).ResultsA total of 714 study participants were enrolled in this study. An overall satisfaction level of 89.6 % was reported by ART care service users. Higher scores of satisfaction of services provisions were reported for courtesy and respect (95.80 %) followed by privacy (93.28 %). On the other hand, respondents’ dissatisfaction was rated 35.32 % for toilet cleanliness followed by 26.19 % for availability of additional drugs. As for overall satisfaction and associated factors, adjusted logistic regression analyses showed that marital status [AOR = 2.01 (95 % CI: 1.11, 3.60)], educational status [AOR = 3.13 (95 % CI: 1.15, 8.53)], travel distance to reach health centre [AOR = 3.59 (95 % CI: 1.23, 10.50)], toilet cleanliness [AOR = 2.22 (95 % CI :1.62, 6.32)], and ART drug availability [AOR = 2.60 (95 % CI :1.18, 6.52)] were found to have influence on overall ART service satisfaction status.ConclusionsThis study revealed high level of client satisfaction rate and were associated with preventable and modifiable factors such as marital status, educational status, travel distance to reach health centre, toilet cleanliness and ART drug availability. Therefore, countermeasures such as increasing access to ART service, availing clean toilet and ART drugs may further increase client satisfaction level in the region.

Patient satisfaction with antiretroviral therapy services and associated factors at Gondar town health centers, Northwest Ethiopia: an institution-based cross-sectional study

“…For patients who traveled more than 1 h from home to health centers, satisfaction decreased by 44% compared to those patients who traveled less than 1 h to get to antiretroviral therapy service health centers. This result was consistent with those of studies in the Tigray region and the public health facility of the Sidama zone of Ethiopia [16,22]. The possible explanations might be the fact that long-distance travel is often associated with increased financial expenditure and absence from work and school.…”

“…Patients satisfaction measurement had important implications for services providers and planners to identify gaps and improvement of service quality of the health care system. However, this finding was lower than results of health centers in Tigray region, Ethiopia (89.6%) [22], Addis Ababa public hospitals (85.5%) [24], Sidama hospital, southern Ethiopia (85.5%) [15], and Bamenda-Cameroon 91.2% [19]. The reason could be the differences in the study setting, socio-demographic characteristics, and service units.…”

Expectation and satisfaction of HIV/AIDS patients toward the pharmaceutical care provided at Gondar University Referral Hospital, Northwestern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…31 Similarly, a patient satisfaction survey conducted in Singapore, Tigray, and Jimma on clients’ satisfaction with ART services showed that the courtesy and respect displayed by health professionals have a positive impact on patient satisfaction; in this regard, most of the questions on level of satisfaction regarding the skill, attitude, and interaction of ART staffs were answered positively. 25 , 26 , 34 The result can be attributed to different reasons; the major reason could be due to the better attention given by Federal ministry of health and regional health bureau and existence of nongovernmental organizations specifically working on ART care such as Management Sciences for Health, Pharmaceuticals Fund and Supply Agency, and System for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services. Almost all (94.1%) the study participants were satisfied with the availability of required ART medications.…”

“…Similar findings were reported by studies conducted in Kenya and Tigray. 25 , 33 The higher level of satisfaction among the illiterate and married respondents could be associated with lesser understanding of the significance of details of the functions in the pharmacy and the services they deserved to get.…”

“…By expecting 74.5% of overall satisfaction at 95% confidence interval considering previous studies, 6 , 25 , 26 292 patients were interviewed. For obtaining statistically significant representative of the population who has been visiting the pharmacy, simple random sampling was used.…”