Assessing Clients’ Satisfaction With Mental Healthcare Services in Accra, Ghana.

Abstract

This study examined clients’ satisfaction with mental healthcare services in Accra by sampling 205 adult mental health patients from the Pantang and Accra Psychiatric hospitals as its participants. The study adopted cross-sectional survey method and used systematic sampling techniques to administer a modified version of the Patients Satisfaction Questionnaire-18 by Marshall and Hays (1994), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support by Zimet et al. (1988), the Satisfaction with Life Scale by Diener et al. (1985) and a modified version of the WHO Encounter Form. The research data were analysed using Multivariate Analysis of variance, independent t-test, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses. Results from the study showed no significant satisfactions difference between outpatients and inpatients but female patients were significantly more satisfied with mental healthcare services across all the domains of satisfaction than male patients. Similarly, significant positive linear relationships were observed among clients’ satisfaction, perceived social support and satisfaction with other life domains. Both perceived social support and satisfaction with other life domains significantly predicted patients’ satisfaction with mental healthcare services with perceived social support accounting for more of the satisfaction variance. Clients’ demographic characteristics age, sex and level of education also significantly predicted satisfaction with services. As a recommendation, clinicians should actively involve trusted relatives and friends of patients in the treatment process. Their involvement has the potential to increase patients’ perceived social support and satisfaction with other aspects of life which will in turn improve satisfaction with services and mental healthcare outcomes