Consumer satisfaction with child health clinics
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A Sheridan1, I Hegarty, E Flanagan
1Department of Public Health, North Eastern Health Board, Navan, Co. Meath. aishling.sheridan@nehb.ie
Insights
Parents reported high satisfaction with child health clinics, particularly communication and staff interaction. Improvements are needed in providing written information and baby-changing facilities to enhance the overall quality of care.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Pediatric Healthcare Quality
- Patient Satisfaction Studies
Background:
- Consumer satisfaction surveys are crucial for monitoring healthcare service quality.
- Child health clinics play a vital role in community-based pediatric care delivery.
- Understanding patient experiences is key to service improvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess parent/guardian satisfaction with community child health clinics.
- To identify specific areas of strength and weakness in service delivery.
- To gather feedback for enhancing the quality of pediatric healthcare.
Main Methods:
- A pre-piloted questionnaire was distributed to parents/guardians attending child health clinics.
- Data collected included clinic type, appointment details, facility satisfaction, communication, and information received.
- A response rate of 70.1% (2,402 out of 3,424) was achieved.
Main Results:
- Most respondents (83.3%) had appointments, with 61.1% seen within 3 months of referral.
- High satisfaction was reported regarding explanation of child's condition (92.1%) and treatment (88.7%).
- Areas for improvement include baby-changing facilities and provision of written information (only 44% received).
Conclusions:
- Child health clinics are generally perceived positively by parents/guardians.
- Specific improvements in facilities and information dissemination can further enhance patient satisfaction.
- Feedback highlights opportunities for administrative and clinical staff to refine service quality.
Abstract:
Consumer satisfaction surveys are used to assist in monitoring the quality of health care service delivery. In order to capture the views of those attending child health clinics in the community setting, a cohort of attendees to child health clinics in a health board region was sent a pre-piloted questionnaire enquiring about the clinic type attended, appointment details, facilities and environment of the health centre attended and experiences of communication and information at the clinic. Of 3,424 parents/guardians contacted, 2,402 (70.1%) replied. Two thousand (83.3%) had an appointment, with 61.1% attending first appointment within 3 months of referral. Median time spent in the centre was 25.0 minutes (ranging from 5 to 150 minutes). Respondents were satisfied with structural facilities with the exception of baby-changing facilities. Respondents agreed that their child's condition (92.1 %) and treatment options (88.7%) were fully explained, with adequate time for discussion (87.8%). Only 44% (n=736) reported receiving written takeaway information regarding their child's condition. Respondents agreed their child was put at ease by staff (85.7%), and the visit was worthwhile (93.9%). This study has identified key areas where administration and health care professionals can improve the quality of what is already perceived to be a good service.
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