Assessment of Parental Satisfaction with Day-Care Surgical Services in a Tertiary Level Pediatric Hospital

Background: Parental feedback is important for improving quality of the surgical services provided.Objective: This study was conducted to assess the level of satisfaction of parents with the day-care surgical services so as to find out where improvement is needed. Methods: This was an observational cross sectional study conducted in the Department of Pediatric Surgery, National Institute of Child Health, Jinnah Sindh Medical University Karachi from September 2019 to April 2020. The parents of the children who underwent different day-care surgical procedures were included. A validated Parent Satisfaction Scale (PSS) which consist of 11-items was used. The responses were made according to Likert scale. Three groups of satisfied, undecided and unsatisfied study participants were made according to the scores obtained. The socio-demographic variables including age of parents and children, level of education, and income group were compared amongst study groups. Results: Total of 114 parents participated. The most common procedure performed was inguinal herniotomy (n=59). Seven (6%) patients were brought back after discharge due to pain. Eighty-seven (76.30%) parents were satisfied with the services provided while 18 (15.8%) were unsatisfied and 9 (7.9%) undecided. A significant difference in the satisfaction level of the study participants noted with respect to the mean age of parents (p=0.039), level of education (p< 0.001) and income groups (p< 0.001). Conclusion: Majority of the study participants were satisfied with the surgical services provided. Lack of respect given by the hospital staff and delay in getting treatment were the main reasons for dissatisfaction. Socio-demographic characteristics of the study participants were significantly associated with the level of satisfaction.