Patient Satisfaction in Missionary Hospitals of Kerala

Background: Kerala has become a success and a model for the country, especially in increasing life expectancy as well as reducing infant and maternal mortalities. But there is a wider demographic and epidemiological transition happened, which lead to higher morbidity rates and life style diseases. Considering health as a basic need and necessity, in this scenario of unregulated healthcare market, it is essential that along with public health services, missionary and other non-profit hospitals sustain themselves in this competitive health scenario. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, done among the missionary hospitals under Catholic Church in Kerala. All the hospitals registered under CHAI - (Catholic Health Association of India) - Kerala Region is the statistical universe for this study. In the CHAI- Kerala region, there are 5 zones: Central zone, Kottayam zone, Trissur zone, Malabar zone and Trivandrum zone, covering all the regions of the State. The study was limited to 10 hospitals from 5 zones. The data was collected through questionnaire from 300 patients of 10 hospitals spread all over the State of Kerala. Results: With regard to the attention by the doctor, there was significant difference in terms of income, and about medical care there is significant difference on age and gender. There was also a difference of significance about the cost of treatment on income. And there was significant difference in diagnosis based on age and income. Conclusion: Understanding the factors that affect the patient perceptions of satisfaction in missionary hospitals can bring more insights in visioning quality improvement strategies in health care management.