Comparison of the Level of Satisfaction of Service Recipients Between Government and Outsourced Health Posts Under Coverage of South Tehran Health Center

The District Health Network is based on the principles of equity, appropriate technology, inter-sectoral collaboration and public participation. Measuring patient satisfaction is one of the basic criteria in determining the quality of care services. The purpose of this study was to compare the level of satisfaction of service recipients between government and non-government health posts in the south of Tehran in 2021.

This was a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study. A two-part researcher-developed questionnaire was used to collect data. The first part included items related to demographic characteristics of the clients, insurance status, geographical location and type of health post, appointment system and frequency of visits, and the second part contained questions on the type and level of satisfaction with the services provided.

In the governmental health posts, the clients were mostly satisfied with, in a decreasing order, vaccination services, post-vaccination education, waiting time and physical space. In the outsourced posts, post-vaccination care education, under-one year old child care, vaccination and a sense of responsibility obtained, in an increasing order, the highest scores of satisfaction. Further analysis of the data showed the clients’ least satisfaction with youth and middle-aged care in governmental posts and youth care in outsourced posts.

Continuous and frequent measurement of satisfaction and developing timely interventions based on the results obtained will help greatly promotion of the quality of health services.