Patient satisfaction with hospital services in COVID-19 era: A cross-sectional study from outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Jammu, UT of J&K, India

BACKGROUND: In the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) era, healthcare delivery toward patient-centered orientation has gone a paradigm shift. High levels of adherence to treatment and recommended prevention are usually the outcome of perceived patient satisfaction. AIMS: The present study aimed to assess patient satisfaction levels in the COVID-19 era and explore its determinants. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study from outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Jammu, UT of J&K, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in the Jammu district. A total of 220 patients were interviewed using consecutive sampling. The tool used to assess patient satisfaction was the patient satisfaction questionnaire-18 (PSQ-18). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Tests of significance used were ANOVA and t-test. RESULTS: The overall mean satisfaction score was found to be 2.91 ± 0.17 and it was highest in the communication domain (3.12 ± 1.50), whereas it was lowest in the accessibility and convenience domain (2.73 ± 1.17). Except for religion, which was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05) with overall mean satisfaction score, other sociodemographic variables (occupation, marital status, and monthly family income) were found to be statistically insignificant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Out of the seven subscales of patient satisfaction, results revealed high scores for communication and financial aspects. Only religion as a demographic variable was found to be significantly associated with patient satisfaction scores. There is a need to improvise the healthcare services in this COVID-19 era in such a manner so that we can contribute to better patient trust leading to a positive influence on health outcomes.