Authors retain the copyright without restrictions for their published content in this journal. HSSR is a SHERPA ROMEO Green Journal.
Publishing License
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of
ASSESSING THE LEVEL OF PATIENT SATISFACTION ON PUBLIC HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA
Corresponding Author(s) : Ephrem Habtemichael Redda
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 8 No. 4 (2020): July
Abstract
Purpose of study: The purpose of this study was to assess patient satisfaction levels within South African public healthcare facilities. The influence of gender and ethnic grouping (race) perceptions of satisfaction of healthcare services was investigated.
Methodology: The study followed a cross-sectional research design and a quantitative research method. The data was collected as part of the General Household Survey in 2018 by Statistics South Africa (the national statistics service of South Africa). Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation were performed to address the research objectives of the study.
Main findings: The results show that the majority of the patients who participated in the survey are satisfied with the public healthcare service they received. The leading provinces that achieved very satisfied patients are Limpopo, the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng.
Applications of the study: The study is important in many ways as it highlights the discrepancies of healthcare provision to the public health decision-makers. For example, the results show that generally, the male patients were slightly more satisfied with the healthcare services than their female counterparts. In terms of ethnic grouping, it appears that white patients are generally more satisfied with the public healthcare services they receive than other race groups.
Novelty/originality of study: A study of this nature has not been conducted in South Africa apart from the anecdotal reports of the department of health and Statistics South Africa. The study delved to analyze the public healthcare service in all provinces of the republic and also provided insight into gender and racial perception of healthcare services in the country.
Keywords
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
- Al-Borie, H.M. & Sheikh Damanhouri, A.M. (2013). Patients’ satisfaction of service quality in Saudi hospitals: a SERVQUAL analysis. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 26(1), 20-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/09526861311288613 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/09526861311288613
- Anon (2019). Public Healthcare South Africa's health system. Retrieved from: https://www.justlanded.com/english/South-Africa/South-Africa-Guide/Health/Public-Healthcare
- Arbore, A. & Busacca, B. (2009). Customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction in retail banking:exploring the asymmetric impact of attribute performances. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 16, 271-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2009.02.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2009.02.002
- Arnauld, E.J., Price, L.L. & Zinkhan, G.M. (2002). Consumers. New York: McGraw Hill.
- Bloemer, J. & De Ruyter, K. (1998). On the relationship between store image, store satisfaction, and store loyalty. European Journal of Marketing, 32(5/6), 499-513. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569810216118 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569810216118
- Boshoff, C. & Du Plessis, P.J. (2009). Services marketing: a contemporary approach. Cape Town: Juta.
- Budianto, A. (2019). Customer Loyalty: Quality of Service. Journal of Management Review, 3(1), 299-305. https://doi.org/10.25157/jmr.v3i1.1808 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25157/jmr.v3i1.1808
- Burger, R. & Christian, C. (2018). Access to health care in post-apartheid South Africa: availability, affordability, acceptability. Health Economics, Policy and Law, X, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744133118000300 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744133118000300
- Carrus,B., Cordina, J.,Gretz, W. & Neher, K. (2015). Lessons from other industries. Retrieved from: https://healthcare.mckinsey.com/measuring-patient-experience-lessons-other-industries. 22 May 2020.
- Dong, M.K. (2003). Inter-relationships among store image, store satisfaction, and store loyalty among Korea discount retail patrons. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 15(4), 42-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/13555850310765033 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/13555850310765033
- Felix, R. (2017). Service quality and customer satisfaction in selected banks in Rwanda. Journal of Business & Financial Affairs, 6(1), 1-11.https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-0234.1000246 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-0234.1000246
- Jacobsen, K. H., & Hasumi, T. (2014). Satisfaction with healthcare services in South Africa: results of the national 2010 General Household Survey. The Pan African Medical Journal, 18. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2014.18.172.4084 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2014.18.172.4084
- Johnson, M., Gustafsson, A., Andreassen, T., Lervik, L. & Cha, J. (2001). The evolution and future of national customer satisfaction index models. Journal of Economic Psychology, 22(2), 217-245. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(01)00030-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(01)00030-7
- Levy, M. & Weitz, B. (2001). Retailing management. 4th ed.New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Lovelock, C. & Wright, L. (1999). Principles of marketing and management. New York: Pearson Prentice-Hall.
- Mahlathi, P. & Dlamini, J. (2015). Minimum data sets for human resources for health and the surgical workforce in South Africa’s health system: a rapid analysis of stock and migration. Retrieved from:https://www.who.int/workforcealliance/031616south_africa_case_studiesweb.pdf
- Marten, R., McIntyre, D., Travassos, C., Shishkin, S., Longde, W., Reddy, S. & Vega, J. (2014). An assessment of progress towards universal health coverage in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS). The Lancet, 384, 2164-2171. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60075-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60075-1
- McColl-Kennedy, J.R. (2003).Services marketing: a managerial approach.Queensland: Wiley.
- Mesut A. & Mehmet, T. & Sabahattin, T. (2020). Examining patient perceptions of service quality in Turkish hospitals: The SERVPERF model. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 31(3-4), https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2018.1427501 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2018.1427501
- Oliver, R.L. (1980). A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions.Journal of Marketing Research, 460-469. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378001700405 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378001700405
- Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml V.A., & Berry, L.L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49:41-50.https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298504900403 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298504900403
- Prakash, G.&Srivastava, S. (2019). Role of internal service quality in enhancing patient centricity and internal customer satisfaction, International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 13(1), 2-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPHM-02-2018-0004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPHM-02-2018-0004
- Rakabe, E. (2018). Challenges facing healthcare system are structural rather than clinical. Retrieved from: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2018-06-26-challenges-facing-healthcare-system-are-structural-rather-than-clinical/
- Republic of South Africa (2018). Health. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.za/about-sa/health
- Shabbir, A., Malik, S.A. & Malik, S.A. (2016). Measuring patients’ healthcare service quality perceptions, satisfaction, and loyalty in public and private sector hospitals in Pakistan, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 33(5), 538-557. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-06-2014-0074 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-06-2014-0074
- Smith, A.M. (2016). Healthcare reform priorities for South Africa: four essays on the financing, delivery and user acceptability of healthcare. Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at Stellenbosch University: Stellenbosch.
- Taqdees, F., Shahab, A.M. & Shabbir, A. (2018). Hospital healthcare service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty: An investigation in context of private healthcare systems. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 35(6), 1195-1214. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-02-2017-0031 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-02-2017-0031
- Torres, M., Summers, T. & Belleau, D. (2001). Men’s shopping satisfaction and store references. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 8:205-212.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-6989(00)00024-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-6989(00)00024-2
- Van den Heever, A. M. (2012). The role of insurance in the achievement of universal coverage within a developing country context: South Africa as a case study. BMC Public Health. 12(Suppl 1): S5. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-S1-S5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-S1-S5
- Van Rensburg, H. (2014). South Africa’s protracted struggle for equal distribution and equitable access – still not there. Human Resources for Health, 12, 26, 10.1186/1478-4491-12-26.https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-12-26 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-12-26
- Yee, R.W.Y., Yeung, A.C.L. & Cheng, T.C.E. (2010). An empirical study of employee loyalty, service quality and firm performance in the service industry. International Journal of Production Economics, 124(1), 109-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2009.10.015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2009.10.015
- Yongwook, J., Ki-Joon, B., Youngjoon, C. & Jin-Soo, L. (2019). Exploring Airbnb service quality attributes and their asymmetric effects on customer satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 77, 342-352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.07.014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.07.014
- Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioral consequences of service quality, Journal of Marketing, 60(2), 31-46. https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-12-26 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-12-26
References
Al-Borie, H.M. & Sheikh Damanhouri, A.M. (2013). Patients’ satisfaction of service quality in Saudi hospitals: a SERVQUAL analysis. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 26(1), 20-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/09526861311288613 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/09526861311288613
Anon (2019). Public Healthcare South Africa's health system. Retrieved from: https://www.justlanded.com/english/South-Africa/South-Africa-Guide/Health/Public-Healthcare
Arbore, A. & Busacca, B. (2009). Customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction in retail banking:exploring the asymmetric impact of attribute performances. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 16, 271-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2009.02.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2009.02.002
Arnauld, E.J., Price, L.L. & Zinkhan, G.M. (2002). Consumers. New York: McGraw Hill.
Bloemer, J. & De Ruyter, K. (1998). On the relationship between store image, store satisfaction, and store loyalty. European Journal of Marketing, 32(5/6), 499-513. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569810216118 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569810216118
Boshoff, C. & Du Plessis, P.J. (2009). Services marketing: a contemporary approach. Cape Town: Juta.
Budianto, A. (2019). Customer Loyalty: Quality of Service. Journal of Management Review, 3(1), 299-305. https://doi.org/10.25157/jmr.v3i1.1808 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25157/jmr.v3i1.1808
Burger, R. & Christian, C. (2018). Access to health care in post-apartheid South Africa: availability, affordability, acceptability. Health Economics, Policy and Law, X, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744133118000300 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744133118000300
Carrus,B., Cordina, J.,Gretz, W. & Neher, K. (2015). Lessons from other industries. Retrieved from: https://healthcare.mckinsey.com/measuring-patient-experience-lessons-other-industries. 22 May 2020.
Dong, M.K. (2003). Inter-relationships among store image, store satisfaction, and store loyalty among Korea discount retail patrons. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 15(4), 42-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/13555850310765033 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/13555850310765033
Felix, R. (2017). Service quality and customer satisfaction in selected banks in Rwanda. Journal of Business & Financial Affairs, 6(1), 1-11.https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-0234.1000246 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-0234.1000246
Jacobsen, K. H., & Hasumi, T. (2014). Satisfaction with healthcare services in South Africa: results of the national 2010 General Household Survey. The Pan African Medical Journal, 18. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2014.18.172.4084 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2014.18.172.4084
Johnson, M., Gustafsson, A., Andreassen, T., Lervik, L. & Cha, J. (2001). The evolution and future of national customer satisfaction index models. Journal of Economic Psychology, 22(2), 217-245. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(01)00030-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(01)00030-7
Levy, M. & Weitz, B. (2001). Retailing management. 4th ed.New York: McGraw-Hill.
Lovelock, C. & Wright, L. (1999). Principles of marketing and management. New York: Pearson Prentice-Hall.
Mahlathi, P. & Dlamini, J. (2015). Minimum data sets for human resources for health and the surgical workforce in South Africa’s health system: a rapid analysis of stock and migration. Retrieved from:https://www.who.int/workforcealliance/031616south_africa_case_studiesweb.pdf
Marten, R., McIntyre, D., Travassos, C., Shishkin, S., Longde, W., Reddy, S. & Vega, J. (2014). An assessment of progress towards universal health coverage in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS). The Lancet, 384, 2164-2171. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60075-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60075-1
McColl-Kennedy, J.R. (2003).Services marketing: a managerial approach.Queensland: Wiley.
Mesut A. & Mehmet, T. & Sabahattin, T. (2020). Examining patient perceptions of service quality in Turkish hospitals: The SERVPERF model. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 31(3-4), https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2018.1427501 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2018.1427501
Oliver, R.L. (1980). A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions.Journal of Marketing Research, 460-469. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378001700405 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378001700405
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml V.A., & Berry, L.L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49:41-50.https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298504900403 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298504900403
Prakash, G.&Srivastava, S. (2019). Role of internal service quality in enhancing patient centricity and internal customer satisfaction, International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 13(1), 2-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPHM-02-2018-0004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPHM-02-2018-0004
Rakabe, E. (2018). Challenges facing healthcare system are structural rather than clinical. Retrieved from: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2018-06-26-challenges-facing-healthcare-system-are-structural-rather-than-clinical/
Republic of South Africa (2018). Health. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.za/about-sa/health
Shabbir, A., Malik, S.A. & Malik, S.A. (2016). Measuring patients’ healthcare service quality perceptions, satisfaction, and loyalty in public and private sector hospitals in Pakistan, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 33(5), 538-557. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-06-2014-0074 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-06-2014-0074
Smith, A.M. (2016). Healthcare reform priorities for South Africa: four essays on the financing, delivery and user acceptability of healthcare. Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at Stellenbosch University: Stellenbosch.
Taqdees, F., Shahab, A.M. & Shabbir, A. (2018). Hospital healthcare service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty: An investigation in context of private healthcare systems. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 35(6), 1195-1214. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-02-2017-0031 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-02-2017-0031
Torres, M., Summers, T. & Belleau, D. (2001). Men’s shopping satisfaction and store references. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 8:205-212.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-6989(00)00024-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-6989(00)00024-2
Van den Heever, A. M. (2012). The role of insurance in the achievement of universal coverage within a developing country context: South Africa as a case study. BMC Public Health. 12(Suppl 1): S5. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-S1-S5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-S1-S5
Van Rensburg, H. (2014). South Africa’s protracted struggle for equal distribution and equitable access – still not there. Human Resources for Health, 12, 26, 10.1186/1478-4491-12-26.https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-12-26 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-12-26
Yee, R.W.Y., Yeung, A.C.L. & Cheng, T.C.E. (2010). An empirical study of employee loyalty, service quality and firm performance in the service industry. International Journal of Production Economics, 124(1), 109-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2009.10.015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2009.10.015
Yongwook, J., Ki-Joon, B., Youngjoon, C. & Jin-Soo, L. (2019). Exploring Airbnb service quality attributes and their asymmetric effects on customer satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 77, 342-352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.07.014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.07.014
Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioral consequences of service quality, Journal of Marketing, 60(2), 31-46. https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-12-26 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-12-26