Women’s satisfaction with maternal care services in Georgia

INTRODUCTION: Patient satisfaction is a key indicator of health care quality. We investigated women’s satisfaction with antenatal, natal and immediate postnatal care, as well as the association between women’s satisfaction with the care they received and background characteristics. METHODS: We conducted a survey in the capital and two regions of Georgia. 400 women, who gave birth to healthy babies during the preceding twelve months before the date of data collection, were the target population. Women’s opinion about the organization of maternal care (tangibility, availability, accessibility) and process characteristics (responsiveness, reliability, empathy, communication and courtesy) were measured. Women satisfaction with antenatal, natal and postnatal services was also measured. RESULTS: Women’s satisfaction with antenatal, natal, and immediate postnatal services was high. The respondents’ perception about the tangibility of maternity houses was quite positive, more than three quarters of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statements that maternity houses/units were attractive and medical equipment was up to date. Regression analysis on satisfaction with antenatal, natal, and immediate postnatal showed that those who paid for services were less satisfied than those who did not pay. Women in urban areas were more satisfied with antenatal and natal services than in rural areas. High educated women were less satisfied than women with the lowest education level. CONCLUSIONS: In general, women are satisfied with maternal care in Georgia. The high level of satisfaction can be due to the improvement in structural factors of maternal health care such as tangibility, availability, and accessibility.