Assessment of parents' perception of quality of pediatric oncology inpatient care at Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Objective:Adequate knowledge of parents’ perception of quality of pediatric cancer care helps to identify the areas of care improvement which would contribute to disease outcome in regard to the quality of life and satisfaction with the care provided. The aim of the study was to assess the parents’ perception of the quality of Pediatric Oncology Inpatient Care at Kenyatta National Hospital.Methods:A cross-sectional descriptive quantitative and qualitative study was undertaken using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire and a focused group discussion guide. Assessment of parents’ perception of quality of care was done in relation to the institution's structures and care delivery processes. These included the ward environment, resources for cancer treatment, care processes, service providers, and parents’ knowledge empowerment. Participants were systematically selected. Parents’ perception was defined as satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the care provided. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) and presented as frequencies and percentages. Chi-square was used to test the significant association between variables. Level of significance was set at a P ≤ 0.05.Results:A total of 107 respondents were interviewed and 57.9% were satisfied with the overall quality of care they received. The determinants of overall satisfaction in this study were found to be related to resources for cancer treatment (odds ratio [OR] =3.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.39–6.90; P = 0.005), care delivery processes (OR = 2.87; 95% CI = 1.28–6.43; P = 0.009), and the ward environment (OR = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.17–5.74; P = 0.018).Conclusions:The parents were moderately satisfied with the oncology care services their children received. The gaps identified in service delivery included those related to the availability of the required resources for efficient care delivery and also educational as well as psychosocial needs of the parents.

<p>Quality of Pediatric Healthcare Services and Associated Factors in Felege-Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, North-West Ethiopia: Parental Perception</p>

“…This finding is in line with other studies conducted in Black Lion Specialized Hospital (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) and Kenyatta Hospital (Kenya) that showed the overall level of parental perception in quality of pediatric care was 59.8% and 57.9%, respectively. 14 , 17 However, it is lower when compared to the findings from India which reported the overall level of healthcare service quality to be 88.9%. 25 The mean score of overall perceived quality, 3.06±0.55, is also lower than a finding from Israel-Aina et al 16 which reported the overall mean score of parental perception was 4.35±0.43.…”

“…The finding is quite comparable with the study from Bangladesh which assessed drugs and medical goods availability in a children’s hospital with a negative valence of mean score 2.36±1.19. 26 Other studies by Keiza et al 14 , from Kenya, Goyal P et al 25 , from India and Baltussen 28 , from Burkina Faso also reported that drug and medical equipment availability were the commonest barriers of quality of healthcare services delivery in the hospitals.…”

“…Similar findings like lack of adequate facilities and unsuitable providers’ offices were reported as barriers of delivering quality services. 14 , 28 , 29…”

“…11 For pediatrics healthcare services, it is the perceptions of parents or caregivers of the sick children that is required to measure its quality. 12 – 14 Parents’ perspective would be considered to adequately assess the factors affecting hospital pediatric healthcare service quality where the children are being received.…”

“…Socio-demographic characteristics such as age, sex, educational level, occupation, and residence were reported as factors associated with perception of healthcare service quality. 14 – 17 History of patients’ hospitalization, 14 , 18 differences of service units, and patients’ illnesses type 19 were also identified as predictors for perceived quality of health services.…”