Abstract
Background: Patient satisfaction is a nuanced idea that has grown in importance as a gauge for healthcare practitioners to measure the success of treatment. It is commonly assessed through surveys that allow patients to score different aspects of their consultation experience. These factors include the practitioner's approach to treatment, the precision with which treatment and diagnosis explanations were provided, the standard of service provided by the cashier and/or the receptionist, cost- effectiveness, appointment length, and frequency. Patient satisfaction surveys commonly make use of a Likert-scale, typically using smiley faces to measure the satisfaction level of the patient. This study aimed to assess patient satisfaction from data collected at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Chiropractic Day Clinic and assess the level of patient satisfaction. The study’s objectives included determining the reliability of the patient satisfaction survey used at the Chiropractic Day Clinic, to investigate the relationship between satisfaction and the likelihood of attending the clinic again, and to determine what factors influenced satisfaction levels.
Methods: This study was a quantitative retrospective analysis of patient satisfaction from data previously collected between 2018 and 2022 from the UJ Chiropractic Day Clinic, Doornfontein Campus, Johannesburg, South Africa. The data was collected via a paper-based patient satisfaction survey which was filled in after the initial consultation for patients who attended the UJ Chiropractic Day Clinic. A retrospective analysis was chosen as the data collected for the clinic has never been analysed.
Results: A total of 1520 surveys were collected and recorded. The mean response for the questions of the survey (2.99) indicated patients were satisfied with their clinic experience. Patients were 100% (1520 patients) satisfied with the booking process in 2022 and with the reception staff, students/doctors, cashier, and their overall clinic experience in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Reliability testing of the survey via Cronbach’s Alpha indicated high levels of consistency and reliability (0.937). There was no statistically significant association (p = 0.142) between patient satisfaction and whether the patient would attend the clinic again (the p-value was greater than 0.05).
Conclusion: Patients were satisfied with their experience at the UJ Chiropractic Day Clinic. The patient satisfaction survey is reliable and valid. There is no statistically
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significant association between patient satisfaction and the likelihood of attending the clinic again. The factors of the survey that influenced patient satisfaction were the booking process, attendance by the receptionist, students/doctors and cashier, and the patient’s overall experience.