A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the
Award of Degree of Master of Public Administration (MPA) of
Mzumbe University
This research study was designed to assess Quality health services towards patient
satisfaction at Mwananyamala Hospital. The study was conducted focusing on inpatients with a sample of 120 respondents who were all hospitalised (in-patients) at
the facility. Out of the total, 43 (36 per cent) were male respondents and 77 (64
per cent) females.
The study used a mixed-method in data collection, quantitative and qualitative in
order to capture pertinent issues related to health care services provided at the health
facility. Likert scale measure was used to assess the satisfaction of patients in various
services they received related to four quality dimensions (Tangible, empathy, safety
and accessibility). The analysis was conducted using SPSS to derive frequencies and
tables. For inferential statistics, t-test and Chi-square tests were used to test
differences in the means of respondents on certain services and measuring
associations of various variables respectively.
The findings of the study revealed that overall the patients were not satisfied with
the services provided at Mwananyamala hospital. Out of the four quality dimensions
assessed, only two (safety and accessibility) were provided according to patients’
expectations. Services related to tangible and safety could not reach patients’
expectations. The study also established that satisfaction by sex, educational
background and income levels were significantly associated with some services
provided at the facility. For instance, sex was significantly associated with the availability
of doctors and nurses whenever needed. Generally, the female was more satisfied with
services than men. The major factor for the dissatisfaction of services was the unavailability
of needed drugs. Buying such medicine outside the hospital was a discouraging factor.
For improved services, the hospital management needs to improve services related to
communication to the patients and establishing good relationships with all patients
being hospitalised at the facility