Evaluating Patient Satisfaction with Community Clinic Services: Evidence from Meherpur District, Bangladesh
1Nilufar Easmin, 2*Shahed Ahmed
1Lecturer, Department of Economics, Gangni Government Degree College, Meherpur, Bangladesh
2Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Islamic University, Kushtia-7003, Bangladesh
https://doi.org/10.47191/jefms/v8-i4-42
ABSTRACT:
This study explores how satisfied patients are with the services provided by community clinics (CCs) in rural areas of Meherpur, Bangladesh. The main goals are to understand the background of the patients who use these clinics, to assess the level of patient satisfaction with the services they receive, and determine what problems exist in service delivery. Patient satisfaction was evaluated using the SERVQUAL model, which looks at five key areas: physical facilities and equipment (tangibility), dependability of service (reliability), prompt response from staff (responsiveness), trust in healthcare providers (assurance), and caring behavior (empathy). In addition, the study examined how easy it is for patients to access the clinic and whether they find treatment costs affordable. Data were collected using a purposive sampling technique through a survey of 300 patients, using structured questionnaires, and analyzed through descriptive statistics and multiple regression techniques. The results showed that all five SERVQUAL dimensions and the two extra factors—access and cost significantly influenced patients’ satisfaction. Reliability was the most influential factor, followed by assurance, empathy, tangibility, responsiveness, and access. Conversely, treatment cost had a negative and significant effect, indicating that an increase of expense reduces patient satisfaction. The model's R-squared value of 0.81 confirms its robustness in explaining patient satisfaction. The study also found significant service barriers include a lack of trained doctors, inefficient nursing staff, insufficient medicine, and poor sanitation. The findings emphasize the need for better staffing, infrastructure, cost transparency, and community engagement to improve community clinics’ service quality and patient outcomes in rural Bangladesh.
KEYWORDS:
Community Clinic, Patients’ Satisfaction, SERVQUAL Model, Reliability, Tangibility
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