Examining health equity through satisfaction and confidence of patients in primary healthcare in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Rudzik, Alanna EF

Examining health equity through satisfaction and confidence of patients in primary healthcare in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Rudzik, Alanna EF

Authors

Alanna EF Rudzik

Abstract

Surveys of patient satisfaction are widely used for identifying priorities and problems in healthcare reforms. The present study examined satisfaction and confidence of patients in public healthcare in Trinidad and Tobago. Data were gathered by interviewing a random sample (n=280) of primary healthcare (PHC) patients. Level of patient satisfaction was high but not constant. Results of interviews showed that patients with a higher monthly income (p=0.032) and patients who most recently used private medical care (p=0.037) had lower levels of satisfaction with health services. Employment had an effect on satisfaction (p=0.065), significant among patients who had recently accessed private medical care (p=0.039). Patients using PHC clinics preferred private care to public care. Confidence in public care decreased with increasing complexity of the medical condition. These preliminary results support continued efforts in health-sector reforms and call for the enhancement of data on satisfaction through more comprehensive qualitative data-collection methods.

Citation

Rudzik, A. E. (2003). Examining health equity through satisfaction and confidence of patients in primary healthcare in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Journal of health, population and nutrition, 21(3), 243-250

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Sep 1, 2003
Deposit Date	Jun 26, 2012
Publicly Available Date	Aug 1, 2012
Journal	Journal of health, population, and nutrition
Print ISSN	1606-0997
Publisher	International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	21
Issue	3
Pages	243-250
Keywords	Primary healthcare, Quality of healthcare, Patient satisfaction, Health behaviour, Socioeconomic factors, Caribbean region, Trinidad and Tobago
Publisher URL	http://www.jhpn.net/index.php/jhpn/article/view/213