Abstract:
Background: Patient satisfaction has become one of the leading indicators of healthcare-related
behaviors. Therefore, it is important to study patient satisfaction with healthcare services at the
clinics to improve the health outcomes of patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM).
Objective: To determine the satisfaction with healthcare services received by the patients with
DM and associated factors attending the Endocrinology Clinic, at Teaching Hospital Karapitiya
(THK)
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 patients with type 2 DM
during routine clinic visits at the Endocrinology Clinic, THK. Data were collected using a
validated Patient Satisfaction Scale which is a self-administered, 10-item five-point Likert scale.
Based on the overall mean score, satisfaction was categorized into three categories; low, mild, and
good satisfaction. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, one-way ANOVA and t-test
using SPSS version 25.0
Results: The mean age of the patients (SD) was 58.52 (± 9.25) years and 64% were males. The
mean overall score for satisfaction was 3.35 (±0.61). Out of all, 34.3% (n=137) had good
satisfaction, while 61% (n=244) and 4.8% (n=19) had mild and low level of satisfaction
respectively. Further, 25.8% (n=103) of participants were strongly satisfied with the care received
from healthcare providers. However, 37.3% (n=149) were strongly dissatisfied with the waiting
time at the clinic and pharmacy to receive medicines. Level of education, having complications,
having concurrent diseases, waiting time at the clinic, and adherence to medications were
significantly associated with the overall mean satisfaction score (p<0.05).
Conclusions: A considerable proportion of patients were satisfied with the healthcare services of
the clinic. However, patients were dissatisfied with some factors such as waiting time and other
facilities of the clinic. Therefore, healthcare professionals and policymakers should be aware and
take necessary actions to improve patient satisfaction.
