Health System Responsiveness in Obstetrics and Gynecology Departments of teaching hospitals in Mashhad, Iran

Health system responsiveness (HSR) addresses patient`s non-medical and logical expectations. Various working conditions lead to different levels of responsiveness. No research has been conducted on the responsiveness in the obstetrics and gynecology departments. Therefore, this study was carried out to measure health system responsiveness in obstetrics and gynecology departments of teaching hospitals in Mashhad, Iran

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 patients hospitalized in four teaching hospitals affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, in 2018. A total of 400 women were selected using simple random sampling technique. The data were collected by 32-Item Health System Responsiveness Questionnaire adopted by the World Health Organization. Data analysis was performed using SPSS (version 16) through descriptive statistics, Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficients, and linear regression.

The total mean score of responsiveness of the participants was 53.99±20.85 (Out of 100). Furthermore, 167 (41.8%) inpatients rated responsiveness as in good level. The highest to the lowest responsiveness score was related to the confidentiality, social support networks, prompt attention, dignity, communication, basic amenities, autonomy, and choice of a provider, respectively. Based on the Pearson correlation, dignity (rp=0.904, P<0.001), communication (rp=0.905, P<0.001) and autonomy (rp=0.834, P<0.001) had the highest correlation with HSR. Also a significant reverse correlation was found between age, level of education, and length of hospital stay with HSR.

Total health system responsiveness was found to be at a good level in obstetrics and gynecology wards of the hospitals under study. Given the high correlation of HSR with dignity, communication, and autonomy in the investigated wards, hospital managers should pay more attention to these issues to make their clients satisfied.