Patients' satisfaction with physicians' services in primary healthcare centres in Kuwait City, Kuwait

Abstract

Enhancing patient satisfaction offers a way of opti mising health status and helps in the reduction of wastage of medical resources. The direct measure ment of patient satisfaction is new in Kuwait. This study aimed to assess patient satisfaction with respect to physicians' services in primary health care (PHC) and to determine the association of patients sociodemographic variables on their satis faction level. The sample consisted of 301 patients selected systematically from five primary health care centres (PHCC) to represent various geo graphic areas in Kuwait. The data were collected by personal interview using a structured question naire. The overall mean satisfaction with physician services was 2.21 points out of a maximum of five points. The results from multiple regression analy sis indicated that gender, marital status, occupation and income are the most important predictors, with females, married, labourers and higher income levels having the highest mean satisfaction score. The principal component analysis indicated that the most important aspect is 'communication' which accounted for 54% of the total variance. The results suggested a need for an educational programme to inform patients of the objectives and limits of primary health services.