CLIENTS’ SATISFACTION WITH REFERRAL SYSTEM IN KARBALA

Referral is a dynamic process and it had been recognized as crucial since the Alma Ata declaration in 1978. Hospitals are overcrowded with patients who could be more cheaply treated in smaller facilities is a com-mon feature of poorly functioning Referral System (RS). Client Satisfaction (CS) is an important parameter in the assessment of health care quality. A descriptive cross sectional study conducted to measure CS with RS in Karbala province in Iraq. A special questionnaire based on 5 points Likert scale prepared for this purpose and been testes in a pilot study. T test were used to compare means of satisfaction. A total 726 clients from four hospitals and eight randomly selected primary health care centers (PHCCs) were interviewed. The mean age of the group was 33.4±9 years and females form 56.3% of clients. CS with RS was 19% strongly satisfied, 45.7% satisfied, 7% fairly satisfied, 22.2% dissatisfied and 6.3% strongly dissatisfied. On a score of five the overall satisfaction with RS was 3.49±1.21. Females had higher satisfaction with RS than males (p = 0.004), also PHCCs clients showed higher satisfaction than hospitals clients (p = 0.009).