Patient satisfaction with outpatient health services in Hawassa University Teaching Hospital, Southern Ethiopia

The level of patients’ satisfaction is one among the mechanisms used in assessing the quality of health care services. This cross sectional study was conducted in Hawassa University Teaching Hospital to assess level of satisfaction of patients with outpatient health services and factors associated with it. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between patients’ satisfaction and possible predictors. Four-fifth (80.1%) of patients reported to be satisfied with the hospital’s outpatient services. Respondents who claimed to have had a long stay in the hospital were found to be more satisfied than those who claimed to have had a very long stay (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.54, 95% CI: 2.38, 8.65). Furthermore, there was negative association between patients’ satisfaction and not getting required services in the hospital (AOR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.96), lack of privacy (AOR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.27, 0.78), and absence of good dialogue with outpatient service providers (AOR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.41). Health managers and service providers should devise innovative ways to reduce waiting time, have good dialogue with patients, and maintain privacy of patients in order to improve the level of satisfaction of patients. Key words: Patient, outpatient, satisfaction, hospital.