Research Article
Mehret Tesfu Legesse, Waju
Abstract
Back ground: Knowing patients’ satisfaction with nursing care is important for any healthcare agency as nurses and nursing care comprise the majority of the healthcare provision in hospitals throughout a 24 hour day. Objectives: This study was aimed to assess adult inpatient satisfaction with nursing care and its determinant factors in the study area. Methods: A cross-Sectional Survey was conducted at Hawassa University specialized and teaching hospitals (HUSTH) in Ethiopia from April 1-30, 2014. The study population consisted of patients who were admitted to the study wards at the time of data collection. Patients aged >18, admitted at least for two days and able to communicate. Data was collected using a modified ‘Newcastle Satisfaction with Nursing Scale’ (NSNS). EPI –data version 3.1 and SPSS version 16 were used for data entry and analysis respectively. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted for identifying the predictors of satisfaction. Summary tables were used for presenting the result. Ethical approval was obtained from Jimma University Results: A total of 406 patients participated in the study. The study showed that the mean satisfaction score of the patients was 47%. Multivariate linear regression indicated that perceived need and expectation of care were independent predictors of the patients’ satisfaction. Conclusions: This study revealed that the satisfaction level of patients with the inpatient nursing care they received was low. It was influenced by their perceived need and expectation of care from their providers. Thus, we recommend that the hospitals managers should frequently assess its patients’ satisfaction status and provide tailored on-job training to its nurses in order to improve their skill for enhancing patients’ satisfaction.