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.