The Provision of Antenatal Care Services Satisfaction among Expectant Women at an Intermediate Hospital, Namibia

Background: Antenatal care remains the cost-effective intervention to monitor the wellbeing of the expectant women and her unborn foetus and identify any potential issues among other such as Pre-eclampsia, Anaemia that could harm either one of them. However, the delivery of antenatal care services should be of the highest quality should be conducted in a manner that is entirely satisfactory to the expectant women and their families, as patient satisfaction plays a significant role in quality-of-care reforms and healthcare delivery. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the satisfaction of antenatal care services among expectant women at an Intermediate hospital in Namibia. Methods: A quantitative descriptive research design was applied in the study. A self-validated questionnaire was used to collect the data in the study. The total population was 416 expectant women. However, only 200 expectant women who had more than one antenatal care visits were purposively selected based on the inclusion criteria and completed the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data. Results: Satisfaction levels were high (75%), with high scores attained in aspects such as effective clinic registration, effective communication by healthcare providers, facility resources such as chairs, confidentially of personal information, privacy during examinations, and the access to ultrasound service. Participants favoured having healthcare providers with adequate knowledge and skills in offering antenatal care services. The results indicates that most expectant women were satisfied with antenatal care services at the Intermediate Hospital in Namibia. Conclusion: These findings support the importance of ensuring efficient ANC service delivery and addressing factors that can negatively impact patient satisfaction. The study can serve as a basis for implementing improvements in ANC service quality and tailoring services to the specific needs of expectant women in the study area. However, though a high rate of patient ANC provision services was achieved in this study (75%), the intermediate hospital should ensure that a 100% level of service satisfaction is achieved to enhance patients’ experience.