Ambulance service satisfaction level and associated factors among service users in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction: Pre-hospital ambulance service is the most important part of healthcare service. Client satisfaction with the service indicates the degree of adaptation to the appropriate quality and quantity of services. Patients' dissatisfaction with the service can affect their expectations of the overall services that they will receive later in the definitive care facility. However, it is not a well-addressed area in developing countries, including Ethiopia.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the ambulance service satisfaction level and associated factors among service users in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in five governmental hospitals in Addis Ababa city. A face-to-face exit interview technique was employed on a total of 410 consecutively selected participants using a pretested tool developed from similar sources. The cleaned data was entered into the Epi-Data Manager 4.6 version and then exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. The dependent variable was dichotomized into satisfied and unsatisfied to compute bivariate logistic regression. In the multivariate logistic regression model, predictors with a p-value < 0.05 at the 95% CI were considered to have a significant association.

Result: A total of 410 respondents were included in the study. The mean of participants' responses regarding ambulance personnel, call operator, treatment on the scene, and ambulance subscale was 3.64, 3.48, 3.40, and 3.43, respectively. The study found that only 21.5% of participants were satisfied by the ambulance service they received. There was a statistically significant association between ambulance service satisfaction and age (AOR = 3.52, 95% CI: 1.01-12.36), monthly income (AOR = 3.13, 95% CI: 1.41-6.94), ambulance response time (AOR = 10.33, 95% CI: 2.09-51.06), type of ambulance used (AOR = 4.55, 95% CI: 2.19-9.43), and previous ambulance usage (AOR = 2.33, 95% CI: 1.34-4.05).

Conclusion: The study found a low level of satisfaction among ambulance users. The findings suggest that ambulance personnel performance is a key determinant of user satisfaction, while treatment at the scene and in the ambulances, and call operator areas require improvement. Age, monthly income, ambulance response time, type of ambulance, and previous ambulance use also influenced satisfaction. Improving the quality of services, reducing response time, and ensuring call operators are trained are vital steps to enhance satisfaction.

Keywords: Ambulance service; Emergency medical services; Pre-hospital; User satisfaction.