Women’s Perception of Quality, and Satisfaction with Maternity Care Services Offered at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Quality healthcare is an important denominator for overall health outcomes. It is thus pertinent that the quality of maternity care comprising antenatal, delivery and postnatal care services remains high so as to mitigate the negative outcomes associated with pregnancy. However, maternity care services have been reported to be sub-optimal, especially in low-middle-income countries like Nigeria. This study thus assessed pregnant women perception of quality and their satisfaction with maternity care services offered at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. A descriptive cross-sectional design was utilized to systematically recruit 114 pregnant women. Analysis of data collected using a structured interviewer administered questionnaire was conducted using IBM SPSS version 26. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and standard error were used to describe data while a multiple and multinomial logistic regression analysis were employed to ascertain the predictors of perception and satisfaction respectively. The mean age of women was 31.25±4.95 years with 62 (54.4%) being < 30 years. Women’s overall perception of the quality of maternity care services was 5.36/7.00 being highest in the domain of assurance (5.53/7.00) and lowest in the domain of responsiveness (5.16/7.00). Notably, 40 (35.1%) of women were very satisfied with the quality of maternity care services. A multivariate logistic regression revealed that being aged ≥ 31 years, earning between ₦51,000 - ₦100,000 or ₦101,000 - ₦300,000, being multiparous, and receiving delivery services significantly predicted higher overall perception (p < 0.05). Similarly, being aged ≥ 31 years, and earning > ₦300,000 significantly predicted higher satisfaction levels (p < 0.05). It is evident that pregnant women’s perceptions of quality of maternity care services are positive. However, a substantial proportion of them remain unsatisfied with maternity care services alluding to the fact that multiple factors ranging from socioeconomic to healthcare are implicit in driving perception and satisfaction levels.

Affiliated Institutions

• University of Port Harcourt NG

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