SATISFACTION WITH DENTAL CARE AMONG THE DENTAL OPD ATTENDEES AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN EASTERN NEPAL.
Arbind Rai*, Sneha Shrestha, Ashok Ayer, Navin Agrawal, Mannu Vikram
ABSTRACT
Background: Patient satisfaction is a subjective indicator of whether a patient’s expectations during the treatment visit/s were met or not. Being a multifaceted concept, numerous quantitative questionnaires targeting patient satisfaction, have been developed till date covering various aspects of satisfaction. This study was conducted with an aim to determine the levels of satisfaction with dental care among the dental OPD attendees at a tertiary Care Hospital in eastern Nepal. Material and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 patients in the department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, B.P.K.I.H.S, Dharan from March to Sept 2021. After translation and validation to fit our local context, pretesting among 10% of total sample size was performed before commencing the survey. Result: Patients receiving dental care reported average levels of satisfaction, with a mean (M ± S.D) score of 3.73 ± 0.45 out of 5. The level of satisfaction was significantly negatively correlated (p<0.05) with the treatment status and not with socio-demographic factors like age, sex, or the number of hospital visits (p>0.05). Patient reported marginal satisfaction with the dental care being received, with a mean score of 3.73 ± 0.45. Socio-demographic factors like age, sex, or the number of hospital visits were insignificant but the level of satisfaction was significant in negative association with the treatment status. (p<0.05) Conclusion: This research evaluated the hospital's service quality in light of patients' views and expectations and found average satisfaction, pinpointing several areas for development while providing healthcare. The results can assist the healthcare practitioner and executives in conceptually planning to enhance health care delivery systems.
Keywords: Patient satisfaction, dissatisfaction, caregiver, survey.
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