Organisational variation, satisfaction, and women's time investment in prenatal care

This study measured the amount of time women spent obtaining prenatal care, and related that time spent to satisfaction with care. Women with Medicaid coverage (n = 364) were interviewed about several parameters related to their most recent prenatal visit: (1) how long it took them to get to the visit; (2) how long they waited upon arrival; and (3) how much time they spent with practitioners during the visit. Women were asked questions regarding satisfaction with the most recent visit, and with their care in general. They received care from four sources: private practitioners, community health centres (CHCs), hospital clinics and health department clinics. Women's satisfaction with care decreased as time spent with practitioners decreased, relative to time spent travelling and waiting. Those obtaining care from CHCs were more likely to have shorter waiting times and longer visit times than women obtaining care from other sources. Women spent approximately 3 h during pregnancy in face-to-face contact with practitioners. Satisfaction with care is closely associated with women's relative time investment in obtaining care. Both satisfaction and time investment parameters vary widely by source of prenatal care.