Patient’s level of satisfaction with provided dental treatment, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Background: Patient satisfaction is the appraisal, by an individual, of the extent to which the care provided has met that individual's expectations and preferences. Aim: To determine patient's level of satisfaction with dental treatment in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved adult patients attending public and private clinics in Town district, Zanzibar, Tanzania. A questionnaire assessed patient demographics and level of satisfaction on several aspects of oral care with regard to the clinic (3 questions), treatment (5 questions) and attending doctor (3 questions). The five- point Likert scale used was further grouped into satisfied (satisfied, very satisfied) or not satisfied (very dissatisfied, dissatisfied, neither/nor satisfied). Following analysis, level of statistical significance used was p<0.05. Results: Of the 303 subjects there was a nearly equal attendance of patients in regard to public clinic (n=153; 50.5%) and private clinics (n=150;49.5%). Participants with secondary or higher education were more (68.7%) than those with primary education or less, females (56.54%) were more than males and age group 18-25 years were the majority (40.3%). Regardless of education level patients who were satisfied with the cleanliness, reception and waiting time of the clinic were the majority. Similar findings were reported in regard to treatment and quality of attending doctor (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in level of satisfaction between patients attending the private or public clinics for most items however a significant difference was observed for level of satisfaction in regard to cost of treatment (p=0.0055) and communication skills of doctor (p=0.0138) between the types of clinics. Conclusion: Majority of the patients were satisfied with the provided oral care regardless of education status or type of clinic. Respondents who received treatment in private clinics were dissatisfied with cost of treatment while in the public clinic the communication skills of doctor were not satisfactory.