Abstract:
Objective: The study aimed at finding out clients’ perceptions
of the quality of healthcare delivery at the
district level in rural Ghana, using the Komenda-Edina-
Eguafo-Abrem District as a case study.
Design: 803 patients were purposively selected and
interviewed after visits to health facilities using a pretested
questionnaire, while focus group discussions
were held in 13 communities. The study was done between
October 2003 and August 2004.
Results: The majority of respondents (70%) were females.
The mean expected maximum waiting time for
seeking medical help was 1 hr. About 98% said they
were asked to explain their problem. However, lower
proportions, 74%, 43% and 46% were physically examined,
told what was wrong, or given advice about
their illness, respectively. About 90% of the respondents
were satisfied or very satisfied with the care
given during their visit to the health facility. The participants
perceived poor attitude of some health workers,
long waiting times, high cost of services, inadequate
staff, policy of payment for health services, frequent
referrals to hospitals, and lack of ambulances at
facilities as being detrimental to effective delivery of
quality healthcare.
Conclusions: The study found that generally the quality
of healthcare delivery was perceived to be high for
most of the indicators used. There were, however,
some concerns that patients were not told the diagnosis
or informed about the management of their illness.
These need to be addressed. The level of satisfaction
with quality of healthcare was high.