Assessing care-givers’ satisfaction with child immunisation services in Zambia: Evidence from a national survey

• Published in: Vaccine Vol. 35; no. 42; pp. 5597 - 5602
• Main Authors: Chama-Chiliba, Chitalu Miriam, Masiye, Felix, Mphuka, Chrispin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 09.10.2017; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Caregivers; Caregivers - statistics & numerical data; Family Characteristics; Female; Health care facilities; Health facilities; Health Services Accessibility - statistics & numerical data; Households; Humans; Immunisation; Immunization; Logistic Models; Male; Patient satisfaction; Personal Satisfaction; Public health; Quality; Regression analysis; Regression models; Rural Population - statistics & numerical data; Rural populations; Satisfaction; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vaccination; Vaccination - statistics & numerical data; Vaccines; Zambia; Zambia; SSA; Caregivers; Satisfaction; Immunisation; Zambia; GPS; SEA; SBA; Quality; ZDHS; CSO; EPI; WHO
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.08.051

•Despite high overall satisfaction, some users remained unsatisfied.•User satisfaction is undermined by poor quality partly defined by long waiting times.•Despite associated funding and logistical challenges, outreach is a preferred mode.•Implications of association of outreach with greater satisfaction are discussed. The main aim of this study was to assess care-giver satisfaction with vaccination services in public health facilities in Zambia, and examine its determinants. This study used data from a recent population-based household survey, conducted from May to August 2015. Respondent satisfaction with vaccination services received during the last visit was measured on a five point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. We used an ordered logistic regression model to analyse the significance of perceived quality of vaccination services, immunisation delivery mode and a range of individual characteristics in predicting care-giver satisfaction. Findings show that one in five care givers were unsatisfied with the vaccination services that they had received, with rural populations showing a significantly higher level of satisfaction. Poor quality of care, defined by long waiting times, poor quality of communication between health staff and care givers, long distance to vaccination sites, mode of delivery, and personal characteristics were among major factors driving care-giver satisfaction ratings. We also find that receiving a vaccination at outreach mode of delivery was associated with higher odds of greater satisfaction compared to on-facility vaccination services. The odds of satisfaction were lower for respondents living further away from a health facility, which emphasizes the importance of access in seeking vaccination services. These findings suggest that major improvements in quality of vaccination and service organisation will be needed to increase client satisfaction and service utilisation.