Uncovering patient dissatisfaction with Healthcare Services at a tertiary hospital in Uganda: Patient perspective in a descriptive cross-sectional study

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is a widely recognized standard for assessing the effectiveness of healthcare services in hospitals. This study aimed to discover factors associated with patient dissatisfaction with healthcare services offered at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, Masaka District-Uganda.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study that employed quantitative data collection methods was conducted between February and March 2024. Using Systematic random sampling, 384 study participants were included. Data was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire analyzed and presented using Microsoft Excel 2019 Version.
Results: Most respondents 120 (31.25%) were aged between 31-40 years, 56.77% were females, 67.71 were married or cohabiting with the majority of respondents in low-income class and, 194(50.53%) having a monthly income of less than 100,000Ug. Shs. As (53.13%) were unemployed, 221 (57.55%) were rural residents, and the majority 248(65%) traveled long distances of greater than 10 kilometers to reach the Hospital. The majority of respondents 298(77.61%) disagreed that there was an adequate seating area, the majority of respondents 304(79.17%) waited for long hours before getting services and 204(53.12%) disagreed upon being given adequate time and information regarding their health and 174(45.31%) reported that HCWs were rude to them.
Conclusions: Majority of respondents were dissatisfied with the services they had received at the hospital as most of them 208(54.17%) rated the services provided as poor. Therefore, there should be Implementation of targeted Interventions to address socio-demographic disparities, Enhance Patient-Centered Care and Communication Practices, optimization of health institutional practices to improve service delivery, and further research studies are recommended to better understand the gaps in patient satisfaction with healthcare services in Uganda.