Abstract
Mental disorders are a leading cause of ill health and disability in society today. It has been estimated that nearly one in three South Africans will experience a mental disorder in their lifetime and only one in four people suffering from a mental disorder receive treatment. There are insufficient resources at a community level to support and aid recovery. The financial burden for conventional drugs to treat mental disorders is not sustainable in low to middle income countries such as South Africa. Alternative safe and cost-effective options need to be sought out. Homeopathy is a cost-effective treatment option for mental disorders and provides a level of counseling in consultations for patients in need of care.
Patient satisfaction is an important measure of health care quality perceived by a patient. Surveys are the most used method to quantitatively evaluate patient satisfaction. Allowing patients to self-report their experience of medical care received is a helpful way to determine the quality of care received at the institution where they were treated. To date, there have been no patient satisfaction surveys on the treatment of mental disorders at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Homeopathy Health Centre (UJ HHC).
The aim of this study was to determine patient satisfaction using homeopathic treatment for mental disorders experienced by patients at the HHC by means of a quantitative-descriptive survey.
A sample group of 69 patients who consulted at the UJ HHC from March 2019 to February 2020 were eligible to take part in the survey. After requesting permission from the Head of Department (HOD) and UJ HHC clinic manager, the researcher was allowed access to patients' files to conduct the survey. A total of 30 participants took part in the survey. A questionnaire was used to determine patients’ satisfaction with treatment using homeopathic medicine for their mental disorder at the UJ HHC. The survey was conducted from 31 August 2021 to 13 October 2021. Once the surveys were complete the data was analyzed.
The results of this study indicate patients who consulted at the UJ HHC were very satisfied with their treatment. There was generally a positive response received across all questions. The most notable findings were that the majority of participants (73.3%) felt improvement in their mental disorder symptoms and that overall patients were very satisfied with the clinic and consultation experience. The highest-rated aspects were the way patients were treated by the students in terms
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of dignity and respect, the approachability of the student homeopaths, the attention given to the participants’ case, the student’s ability to make them feel safe and comfortable, the instructions on how to take their medicine and the availability of the homeopathic medicine when they needed it.
The areas which may require more attention are explanations of conditions and diagnoses, what should be expected from taking the homeopathic medicine and involving patients more in their treatment and management plans.
Lastly, a small percentage of participants (14%) mentioned they had difficulties taking medication such as difficulty counting drops, not liking the taste of their medication, being unable to open the bottle or container and some felt sick or uncomfortable after taking their medication.