Patient satisfaction and associated factors towards surgical service among patients undergoing surgery at referral hospitals in western Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is a growing concern in all aspects of healthcare. Assessing patient satisfaction has paramount importance for measuring the level of care provided by a health system. The present study aimed to measure the levels of satisfaction among patients undergoing invasive surgery in the referral hospitals of the Western Amhara Regional State. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was employed. The data were collected from 422 study participants from February 6 to April 6, 2020. The participants were selected using systematic random sampling technique. Interviewer administered questionnaire and chart review were used for data collection. A binary logistic regression model was used to identify the association between independent variables and patient satisfaction. Level of significance was considered at p value less than 0.05 with 95% confidence level. RESULT: Of the total participants, 290 (68.7%, 95% CI: 64.5–73.5) were found to be satisfied with surgical service. Factors such as age >58 years [AOR = 3.80, 95% CI (1.53–9.46)], 47–58 years [AOR = 2.47, 95%CI (1.07–5.71)], those with no formal education [AOR = 2.73, 95% CI (1.18–6.32)], primary school education [AOR = 3.89, 95%CI (1.65–9.17)] and secondary school education [AOR = 3.37, 95%CI (1.38–8.23)], no history of previous surgical admission [AOR = 2.09, 95%CI (1.07–4.08)], length of stay in the hospital <7 days [AOR = 2.13,95%CI(1.21–3.75)] and elective admission for surgery [AOR = 1.75, 95%CI (1.03–2.99)] were significantly associated with patient satisfaction towards surgical service. CONCLUSION: The proportion of patient satisfaction towards surgical service was found to be low. Factors including age, educational status, history of previous surgical admission, length of stay in the hospital and elective admission for surgery were associated with patient satisfaction. This suggests that healthcare organizations should focus on providing patients with respectful and compassionate patient care approach while paying close attention to how patients are treated. Moreover, in order to provide patient-focused care, health care providers should strengthen their usage of patient characteristics including age, educational level, and type of surgery while developing patient focused care plan.