Utilization of Day Surgery Services at Upper Hill Medical Centre and the Karen Hospital in Nairobi: the Influence of Medical Providers, Cost and Patient Awareness
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Date
2015-09
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Pan African Medical Journal
Abstract
Introduction: Health systems face challenges of improving access to health services due to rising health care costs. Innovative services such as
day surgery would improve service delivery. Day surgery is a concept where patients are admitted for surgical procedures and discharged the
same day. Though used widely in developed countries due to its advantages, utilization in developing countries has been low. This study sought to
establish how utilization of day surgery services was influenced by medical providers, patient awareness and cost among other factors. Methods:
The study design was cross sectional with self administered questionnaires used to collect data. Data analysis was done by using statistical
package for social science (SPSS) and presented as frequencies, percentages and Spearman's correlation to establish relationship among variables.
Results: Medical providers included doctors, their employees and medical insurance providers. Most doctors were aware of day surgery services
but their frequency of utilization was low. Furthermore, medical insurance providers approved only half of the requests for day surgery. Doctors'
employees were aware of the services and most of them would recommend it to patients. Although, most patients were not aware of day surgery
services those who were aware would prefer day surgery to in patient. Moreover, doctors and medical insurance providers considered day surgery
to be cheaper than in patient. Conclusion: The study showed that medical providers and patient awareness had influence over day surgery
utilization, though, cost alone did not influence day surgery utilization but as a combination with other factors.
Description
Journal Article
Keywords
Day surgery services, Upper hill Medical Centre, Karen hospital, Medical providers, Patient awareness
Citation
Odhiambo, M. A., Njuguna, S., Waireri-Onyango, R., Mulimba, J. & Ngugi P. M. (2015). Utilization of day surgery services at Upper hill Medical Centre and the Karen hospital in Nairobi: the influence of medical providers, cost and patient awareness. The Pan African Medical Journal. Pan African Medical Journal. 2015; 22:28 doi:10.11604/pamj.2015.22.28.4913. http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/22/28/full/