DETERMINATS OF ANTENATAL CARE CLIENT SATISFACTION AT PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HEALTH FACILITIES IN URBAN TOWNS OF THE TIGRAY REGION

Abstract

Assessment of client’s satisfaction is considered as one of the desired outcomes of health care and it is directly related to utilization of ANC services. ANC coverage in Ethiopia is very law and according to EDHs 2011, the utilization is about 34%, 50% in Ethiopia and Tigray respectively. As a result the MMR remains unacceptably high at 676 per 100,000 live births and only 10%, 12% of women deliver with a skilled provider and In Ethiopia the ANC services are characterized by: Poor attendance, Poor counseling services and Poor client-provider relations, there are some substandard practices and malpractices observed in few facilities in both setups that need to be given due attention. Objective: To assess level of client satisfaction and associated factor among antenatal care services users in the public and private-for-profit health institutions in in urban cities of the Tigray region, Ethiopia. Methods: Institutional based comparative cross sectional study was conducted at randomly selected 540 pregnant women were interviewed. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regressions analyses were performed. The odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to test the statistical significance of Variables. Results: The overall satisfaction was 64.4% for public facilities and 79.6% for private facilities (P<0.01). The result revealed that there is only significance difference on the clients satisfaction on ANC services with regard to occupation significantly associated with client satisfaction on ANC service with housewives (AOR=4.735 CI (1.291-17.372), merchant s(AOR=3.843 CI (.981-15.061)) and (AOR= 2.7, CI : 0.72- 10.170) as compared to students at public but at Private variables that doesn’t have association. In general better satisfactions were observed among those mothers served in private facilities in all likert items On the other hand, costs paid for services favors better satisfaction rate among mothers served at public health facilities. Conclusion: this study had revealed that mothers getting ANC at private facilities showed greater satisfaction level. Hence, important measures have to be taken by the concerned bodies at public health facilities to shorten waiting time, increase availability of drugs, and support health care providers to give adequate information and due respect for mothers. The private facilities need to consider the cost for service to be affordable by the mothers.