PATIENT SATISFACTION IN GOVERNMENT HEALTH FACILITIES IN THE STATE OF QATAR

There is an increasing interest in assessing patients' satisfaction wi th medical care in the United States and other countries. Patient sati sfaction studies have, however, received comparatively little attentio n in public or government-sponsored settings, and in developing countr ies in particular. The research reported upon here is based on a mail, self-administered survey of patients receiving care in two major gove rnment outpatient health care facilities-Hamad General Hospital and th e Khalifa Town Health Center-in the State of Qatar, for the purpose of providing data to improve service delivery and the quality of primary care provided in that country. Analysis was performed on data from 44 4 patients on seven dimensions of patient satisfaction with medical ca re: general satisfaction, availability of services, convenience of ser vices, facilities (physical environment), humaneness of doctors, quali ty of care, and continuity of care. The study pointed to a number of d eficiencies in the availability and delivery of services in government health facilities in the State of Qatar. It also surfaced methodologi cal issues that should be addressed in comparable studies of culturall y diverse populations.