Afsar Jan, Muhammad Ishtiaq.
Comparison of patients satisfaction in public and private teaching hospitals of Islamabad.
Pak J Med Res Jan ;56(3):78-83.

Background: Patient satisfaction is recognized as an important indicator of quality for health services provided by hospitals. Objectives: To assess and compare patients’ satisfaction with services provided in public and private sector hospitals and to determine the factors associated with patients’ satisfaction in these hospitals. Study design, settings and duration: A cross sectional comparative study done in public and private teaching hospitals of Islamabad from September 2014 to July 2015. Patients and Methods: Patients visiting public and private teaching hospitals of Islamabad were randomly interviewed to assess their satisfaction using SERVQUAL instrument. Z-test was used for significance and Spearman test was used to see the association between patients’ satisfaction and age, level of education, number of admissions, waiting time for doctor after admission and number of days at hospital while chi-square test was used to see the significant association between patients’ satisfaction and type of admission, marital status and gender. Results: A total of 240 patients were entered in the study. Overall patients’ satisfaction scores in private sector were higher than public sector hospitals (p< 0.001). Patients’ satisfaction scores within public and private hospitals showed no significant difference. Overall married persons were more satisfied (p< 0.001). There was a weaker correlation between satisfaction and number of time the patient was admitted, level of education, number of admissions, number of days at hospital; but no significant association was seen with age, gender and type of admission. No correlation was found between satisfaction and waiting time for doctor after admission. Conclusion: Overall Patients’ satisfaction in private sector hospitals was higher than in public sector hospitals because the quality of care is higher in private sector hospitals. However, patients of private sector hospital are less satisfied than those of public sector on the indicator of accessibility and affordability. Key words: Public hospitals, private hospitals, patients’ satisfaction.

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