Community-physician-based versus hospital-based antenatal care: A comparison of patient satisfaction

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Strategies to meet the healthcare needs of pregnant women are made available throughout antenatal, intra-partum and post-natal periods. These strategies are aimed at reducing perinatal and maternal mortality amongst women who access and utilise healthcare at an early stage. Late visits with irregular antenatal attendance result in failure to adequately use antenatal interventions. OBJECTIVES: This study intended to compare and describe the level of patient satisfaction with antenatal care between two groups of women who received free antenatal care from community private physicians and public midwives. METHODS: A quantitative comparative descriptive design with a Likert-scale measure was used. Sixty women, half from each group, participated in the study. Structured questionnaires with closed-ended response options were used to obtain data. RESULTS: The midwives' group was less satisfied with antenatal care than the physicians' group, with the former citing long waiting times as contributing to their dissatisfaction with antenatal care. CONCLUSION: Addressing long waiting times improves satisfaction with antenatal care. Daily antenatal visits, rather than visits on a specific day, may reduce long waiting times as women's visits are spread over all clinic days. Satisfaction with antenatal care has implications for access to healthcare, resulting in positive pregnancy outcomes.

Translated abstract

AGTERGROND: Strategien om in die gesondheidsorgbehoeftes van swanger vroue te voorsien, word dwarsdeur die voorgeboorte, intra-partum en nageboorte periodes beskikbaar gestel. Hierdie strategien beoog om die perinatale en moederlike sterfstesyfers te verlaag onder vroue wie reeds op 'n vroeë stadium gesondheidsorg benut. Onrenlmatige en laat voorgeboortebesoeke lei daartoe dat voorgeboorte ingrypings nie voldoende benut word nie. DOELWITTE: Hierdie studie het beoog om twee groepe vroue se vlak van tevredenheid met die gratis voorgeboortesorg wat hul by privaat praktisyns uit die gemeenskap en vroedvroue uit die openbare sektor ontvang het, te vergelyk en beskryf. METODE: 'n Kwantitatiewe vergelykende beskrywende ontwerp met 'n Likert-skaal is gebruik. Sestig vroue, die helfte van elke groep, het aan die studie deelgeneem. Gestruktureerde vraelyste met geslote-vrae opsies is gebruik om die data te verkry. RESULTATE: Die praktisyns se groep was meer tevrede met die voorgeboortesorg as die vroedvroue se groep, veral ten opsigte van wagtye. GEVOLGTREKKINGS: Deur die probleem van wagtye aan te spreek, kan die tevredenheid met voorgeboortesorg verhoog word. Daaglikse voorgeboortesorgbesoeke, eerder as besoeke op spesifieke dae, kan lang wagtye verminder aangesien besoeke dan oor al die kliniekdae versprei word. Tevredenheid met voorgeboortesorg hou implikasies in vir toegang tot gesondheidsorg, wat positiewe swangerskapsuitkomste tot gevolg het.