Patients’ Perception and Satisfaction with the Quality of HIV Care Services and Its Associated Socio-demographic Determinants in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: HIV/AIDS is a chronic disease on long term treatment and as such it is important that the quality of care meets the patient’s expectations and satisfaction which will consequently encourage treatment adherence that is associated with better HIV management, care and outcomes.

Objective: To determine the levels of patients’ perception and satisfaction of the quality of HIV care services and the sociodemographic determinants associated with the level of satisfaction.

Methods: This is a descriptive cross sectional study and respondents were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data was collected using a pretested semi structured questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were done with frequencies and summary statistics. Chi square statistics were computed to determine significant associations and multiple logistic regression to determine predictors of satisfaction. P value was set at 0.05 significant level.

Results: The results revealed that the majority of the respondents (65.6%) perceived that the quality of service rendered was good and were satisfied overall (79.5%) with the services rendered in the HIV clinic of the hospital. It further revealed that the patients overall satisfaction were significantly associated with the following socio-demographic characteristics; religion (p<0.000), marital status (p<0.000), educational level (p<0.000), occupation (p<0.000), centre of HIV diagnosis and treatment (p<0.000), place of residence (p<0.000), number of children (p<0.000), number of people per household (p<0.000), living-in arrangements (p<0.000), and transport cost per visit (p=0.001).

Conclusion: Certain HIV care service areas need improvement in spite of the good level of patients’ perception and overall satisfaction with the quality of HIV care services offered in the tertiary health institution, as this will further enhance the overall patients’ experience and satisfaction thereby increasing the certainty of better treatment adherence and retention in medical care.