Assessment of client satisfaction in labor and delivery services at a maternity referral hospital in Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION: Patients perception about service quality shapes their confidence with regard to use of the available health care facility. This study is aimed to assess the client`s satisfaction in a maternal health care setting. METHODS: This is an institution based cross sectional descriptive study. A total of 423 postpartum women were interviewed. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 statistical package. RESULTS: The proportion of mothers who are completely satisfied with health care ranges between 2.4 to 21%. Pain control was the poorest source of satisfaction with 82% reporting dissatisfaction. Provider's communication with clients yielded complete satisfaction rates ranging between 0.7 to 26%. Inadequate information about the drug prescribed and explanation of procedures to be done to the client were found to be major causes of dissatisfaction. The complete satisfaction rate with environmental factor of the hospital was between 3.3 to 40.2%. Age of the client, educational status, income of the client and client's address away from Addis Ababa were found to be the predictors of client satisfaction. Provider's attitude and communication, as well as longer duration of stay in the ward were independent predictors of client satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Pain management, client privacy and client provider communication need to be addressed to ensure the satisfaction of maternity clients. The clients need to be involved in the management of their own health problems.