Patient satisfaction with nursing care in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction with nursing care has been considered as the most important predictor of the overall patient satisfaction with hospital service and quality of health care service at large. However, the national level of patient satisfaction with nursing care remains unknown in Ethiopia. Hence, the objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the level of patient satisfaction with nursing care and its associated factors in Ethiopia. METHODS: Studies were accessed through an electronic web-based search strategy from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL by using a combination of search terms. The quality of each included article was assessed using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for cross-sectional studies. All statistical analyses were done using STATA version 14 software for windows, and meta-analysis was carried out using a random-effects method. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline was followed for reporting results. RESULTS: Of 1166 records screened, 15 studies with 6091 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The estimated pooled level of patient satisfaction with nursing care in Ethiopia was 55.15% (95% CI (47.35, 62.95)). Patients who have one nurse in charge (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.45–2.62, I(2): 77.7%), with no history of previous hospitalization (OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 0.82–2.31, I(2): 91.3%), living in the urban area (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.70–1.65, I(2): 62.2%), and those who have no comorbid disease (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.48–2.39, I(2): 91.9%) were more likely to be satisfied with nursing care compared with their counterparts although it was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: About one in two patients were not satisfied with the nursing care provided in Ethiopia and may be attributed to several factors. Therefore, the Ministry of Health should give more emphasis to the quality of nursing care in order to increase patient satisfaction and improve the overall quality of healthcare service in Ethiopia.