A descriptive study to assess patients’ satisfaction towards care received at AIIMS, New Delhi

Patient satisfaction is one of the established yardsticks to measure success of the services being provided in the health facilities. A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted to assess the patient satisfaction towards care received at Maternity ward of AIIMS, New Delhi. A total of 50 subjects from two maternity wards were recruited into the study by convenient sampling. A structured questionare was prepared which consists of two sections: demographic profile and five point rating scale for patient satisfaction. The overall patient satisfaction was categorized into very, slightly and dissatisfied. The data collection technique was interview method. The results of the study showed mean age of subjects was 29.24 years, 44% of the subjects were graduate, 84% were housewives. Further, majority belongs to urban region and the reasons for admission for majority were high risk cases. With regards to satisfaction level of subjects towards care; 44% very satisfied, 52% slightly satisfied and only 4% were dissatisfied. In terms of admission procedure majority (74%) were very satisfied. In relation to physical environment and treatment nearly two fifth of subjects were very satisfied. Noticeably, only 2% were dissatisfied with admission, physical environment and treatment. Almost half of the subjects were very satisfied with discharge, and meals. In relation to cleanliness, 84% were very satisfied. 90% of the respondents were very satisfied with condition of Lavatories. Majority of the participants were very satisfied with behavior of doctors and nurses. The highest percentage of dissatisfaction (12%) falls in the visitors and family. There was no statistically significant relationship found between demographic variables and satisfaction level of subjects. Overall, majority of the subjects were satisfied with the maternity care received from AIIMS, New Delhi, however, its is indispensable to look into the factors leading to the dissatisfaction concerns with family and visitors.