Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, #76 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, China.
Center for Drug Safety and Policy Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
Int J Clin Pharm. 2021 Jun;43(3):556-565. doi: 10.1007/s11096-020-01163-5. Epub 2020 Oct 6.
Background Patient satisfaction is a critical construct of quality of pharmaceutical care in that it reflects whether a given service is meeting patients' expectations and consistent with their values. The government of Sierra Leone in 2010 introduced a free healthcare policy, which includes free pharmaceutical services for under-five children, lactating mothers, and pregnant women at all governments hospitals nationawide. Objectives The main objective of this study is to evaluate patient's satisfaction with the pharmaceutical services received from public hospitals implementing the free healthcare policy. Setting Four randomly selected public hospitals in Sierra Leone, one from each of the four regions, providing free healthcare services. Methods A cross-sectional design, using an interview-administered questionnaire, was employed in this study. Data were analyzed in SPSS, continuous and categorical data were computed descriptively. Responses to the open question were quantified and analyzed thematically. Adjusted and crude logistical models were used to assess factors associated with satisfaction, and significance was taken at p < 0.05. Main outcome measure Patients satisfaction with pharmaceutical services provided in public hospitals in Sierra Leone. Results Overall, 797 questionnaires were analyzed. The majority of patients seeking free pharmaceutical services were satisfied (n = 470, 56%) or very satisfied (n = 229, 28.7%) with the services they received. Pharmacy staff which includes pharmacists and pharmacy techincians demonstrated good communication skills while delivering services, but lacked technical details like; how to handle (n = 187, 23.5%) and store (n = 135, 16.9%) drugs and their potential side effects (n = 253, 31.8%). Low satisfaction was observed with the lack of private area for patients counseling (n = 474, 60.1%), and a convenient waiting area (n = 229, 28.7%). Respondents also thought the pharmacy was too small (n = 191, 24.6%) and with less than optimal lighting system (n = 120, 15.0%). Dissatisfaction was associated with college/university students or graduates [AOR: 0.211 (0.083-0.537), p = 0.001] and those with household incomes less than SLL 1,000,000 [AOR: 0.391 (0.155-0.987) p = 0.047]. Conclusions Patients were generally satisfied with pharmaceutical services received; however, infrastructural upgrades of the pharmacy like a comfortable waiting area and private counselling area within the pharmacy scores low in their satisfaction level. Improvement on the pharmacy structure, and motivated pharmacy staff with the right technical training will enhance the effective delivery of quality pharmaceutical care within the free healthcare.
患者满意度是药物治疗质量的重要指标，因为它反映了特定服务是否满足患者的期望并符合其价值观。塞拉利昂政府于 2010 年推出了一项免费医疗政策，该政策包括为全国所有政府医院的五岁以下儿童、哺乳期妇女和孕妇提供免费的药物服务。
本研究的主要目的是评估在实施免费医疗政策的公立医院中，患者对药物服务的满意度。
塞拉利昂的四家随机选择的公立医院，每个地区一家，提供免费的医疗服务。
采用横断面设计，使用访谈式问卷调查。数据使用 SPSS 进行分析，连续和分类数据进行描述性计算。对开放式问题的回答进行量化，并进行主题分析。使用调整后的和未调整的逻辑模型来评估与满意度相关的因素，显著性水平设为 p < 0.05。
塞拉利昂公立医院提供的药物服务的患者满意度。
总体而言，分析了 797 份问卷。大多数寻求免费药物服务的患者对他们所接受的服务表示满意（n=470，56%）或非常满意（n=229，28.7%）。药剂师和药剂技术员等药房工作人员在提供服务时表现出良好的沟通技巧，但缺乏技术细节，例如如何处理（n=187，23.5%）和储存（n=135，16.9%）药物及其潜在的副作用（n=253，31.8%）。患者咨询缺乏私人区域（n=474，60.1%）和方便的等候区（n=229，28.7%）也导致了较低的满意度。受访者还认为药房太小（n=191，24.6%），照明系统不理想（n=120，15.0%）。不满意与大学生或毕业生有关（AOR：0.211（0.083-0.537），p=0.001）和收入低于 1000000 塞拉利昂利昂的人有关（AOR：0.391（0.155-0.987），p=0.047）。
患者对所接受的药物服务总体上满意；然而，药房的基础设施升级，如药房内舒适的等候区和私人咨询区，在他们的满意度评分中得分较低。改善药房结构，以及对具有正确技术培训的药剂师进行激励，将提高免费医疗服务中有效提供优质药物治疗的能力。
