A cross sectional study was carried out to identify and compare factors that contribute to patient satisfaction towards the medical care services provided at the outpatient clinic in government health clinics and private clinics in Mulcim Labu, Sepang, Selangor. Systematic sampling for government clinic and universal sampling for private clinics were done and data was collected via face-to-
face interview based on a validated Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ). A total of 181 patients aged 15 to 75 years old were selected, comprising 90 patients from the government clinics and 91 patients from private clinics. The majority of the patients were males (62.4%), Malay (79.0%), aged between 25 to 34 years with a mean age of 34.6 years and acutely ill (80.7%). Generally, all patients were satisfied with the services provided in both government and private sectors. Patients in private clinics, however, had a significantly higher satisfaction score as compared to the respondents in government clinics. There was signilqcant correlation between patient satisfaction score and household income in government and private clinics. Significant correlation was also found between patient satisfaction score and age in government clinic. Patients in private clinics were more satisfied towards the interpersonal manners, availability and continuity of care of the clinic compared to patienw in government clinics. Whereas patients in government clinics were more satisfied towards the service charges. This study provides important in ormation that could be used by roviders o health care services to monitor and im roved the ualit o medical care in the respective sectors.
The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of health care utilization amongst the rural community and the prevalence of complementary health care in Kampung Giching, Sepang, Selangor, A cross sectional study was conducted in 2001. Out of the 154 respondents selected by universal sampling, only 131 completed the questionnaires giving a response rate of 85.1 %. The
respondents were asked to recall the presence of any illness during the past 6 months and their use of health care, Twenty-four respondents claimed to be healthy without having any illness (18,3%), 33 respondents (25,2%) reported that they had chronic illnesses, while the rest (n=74) reported having acute illnesses. There were 54.2% of the respondents admitted trying self-medication and 10.3% seelced traditional medication for their respective illnesses. Among the self»medicated respondents, 48,3% used modem medicine, 48 .3% used traditional medicine, 1.7% used both modern and traditional medicines and 1 .7% respondent used home remedies. The results of this study show that both modern and traditional practitioners play important roles in giving information on self-medication, These practitioners as well as the public should be advised on the benejits and side»e]j"ects of both types of medication (modern and traditional).