August Francis, Nyamhanga Tumaini, Kakoko Deodatus Conatus, Anaeli Amani, Mwangu Mughwira Ally
Department of Development Studies, School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Department of Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Int J Womens Health. 2025 Jul 5;17:1933-1944. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S516808. eCollection 2025.
Although patient complaints are stressful, they are regarded as useful when framed as learning avenues (ie checks and balances in service delivery), further contributing to quality improvement mechanisms and enhancing accountability. A well-structured system of receiving and managing complaints may result in, but is not limited to, improved accountability, control of abuse and vulgar language, and assurance/compliance with the code of conduct or procedure. Tanzania established a National Guide for Complaint Management in Health Facilities. It is a prerequisite in Health facilities to enable to use of evidence from the complaints process for quality improvement. Despite the emphasis on feedback from patient concerns and the availability of a guide for patient concern management in Tanzania, there is a paucity of information on how well patients' complaints are received, dealt with, and managed by district hospitals, especially those emerging from maternal, newborn, and child health services.
This study aimed to assess providers' perspectives on the implementation of Tanzania's guidelines for managing patient concerns in service delivery.
A qualitative approach was used for data collection, and content analysis was performed.
The findings underscore the challenges related to hospital infrastructure for receiving patients' complaints, ie awareness and enthusiasm to use them, how complaints are dealt with, ie processing of the complaints, feedback mechanisms, ie learning from the complaints, integrating lessons learned from the complaints into service delivery, and quality improvement mechanisms in maternal health services. Findings are framed as barriers and facilitators of the process of receiving complaints and processing complaints/concerns, together with feedback mechanisms.
The implementation of patient complaint mechanisms has remained ineffective despite the reported enablers, which smooth the implementation of patients' complaints, such as the availability of structures and guidelines, citizens' engagement/participation, self-esteem, and enthusiasm.
尽管患者投诉会带来压力，但如果将其视为学习途径（即服务提供中的制衡机制），则被认为是有用的，这进一步有助于质量改进机制并增强问责制。一个结构完善的接收和管理投诉的系统可能会带来（但不限于）更高的问责制、对辱骂和粗俗语言的控制以及对行为准则或程序的保证/遵守。坦桑尼亚制定了《卫生设施投诉管理国家指南》。在卫生设施中，利用投诉过程中的证据进行质量改进是一项先决条件。尽管坦桑尼亚强调患者关切的反馈以及有患者关切管理指南，但关于地区医院如何接收、处理和管理患者投诉的信息却很少，尤其是那些来自孕产妇、新生儿和儿童健康服务的投诉。
本研究旨在评估提供者对坦桑尼亚在服务提供中管理患者关切指南实施情况的看法。
采用定性方法收集数据，并进行内容分析。
研究结果强调了与接收患者投诉的医院基础设施相关的挑战，即使用投诉的意识和积极性、投诉的处理方式（即投诉的处理流程）、反馈机制（即从投诉中学习）、将从投诉中学到的经验教训纳入服务提供以及孕产妇健康服务中的质量改进机制。研究结果被框定为接收投诉和处理投诉/关切过程的障碍和促进因素，以及反馈机制。
尽管有报告称存在一些促进因素，如结构和指南的可用性、公民的参与/参与度、自尊和积极性等，这些因素有助于患者投诉机制的实施，但患者投诉机制的实施仍然无效。
