Service satisfaction among patients attending the psychiatric outpatient clinic of the mental health care centre, Windhoek Central Hospital

ABSTRACT: Background: Patients are the primary beneficiaries of the services that health institutions provide. Patient satisfaction is an important indicator for measuring the quality in health care. Knowing whether patients are satisfied with the care they receive can be useful for improving the quality of health services. Aim: The study aimed to determine the extent to which patients attending the outpatient section of a Mental Health Care Centre were satisfied with the services they received, and to assess the relationship between demographic variables with different domains of patient satisfaction. Setting: Mental Health Care Centre of Windhoek Central Hospital, Namibia. Methods: A purposive sample of 51 patients attending the outpatient section of the Mental Health Care Centre participated in focus-group discussions and face-to-face in-depth interviews. In addition, a cross-sectional survey of 263 patients attending the same institution was carried out using a structured Questionnaire. Results: The study found that 88.5% of participants were satisfied with the services they received, and that patients’ demographic characteristics affect patients’ satisfaction levels. Participants were more satisfied with perceived outcome, and dissatisfied with information and participation in treatment plan. Gender, age, marital status and education were significantly associated with overall satisfaction; however, no such significant associations could be found for employment. Conclusion: Although only a small proportion of patients expressed dissatisfaction with the services provided, they are significant in that they constitute a call for action by the Mental Health Care Centre management to encourage the health personnel to embrace a staff-patient relationship ethos, in which the patient is viewed as a customer