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Quality Assessment of Family Planning Services in Ife/Ijesa Administrative Health Zone: Clients' Perspective


Ernest O Orji
Solomon O. Ogunniyi
Uche Onwudiegwu

Abstract

Context: Medical audit in healthcare has a goal to monitor and upgrade the standard of health care in a setting. Whether a client will accept, use effectively and continue to practice contraception depends on the quality of services rendered.


Objective: To assess the quality of our family planning services as perceived by our clients.


Design, Setting and Subjects: A cross-sectional survey of clients at three family planning clinics in Ife-Ijesha Administrative Health Zone coordinated by the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife between 1st April and 31st August 2000. The study group consisted of 490 clients.


Main Outcome Measures: Technical competence of providers, client/provider relations; mechanisms to encourage continuity, constellation of services offered and client satisfaction.


Results: More than half (52.2%) of clients felt satisfied with the competence of the provider, 94.6% were satisfied with the client-provider relationship. Measures to encourage continuity were maintained in 90.8% of clients. There is a high level (94%) of client satisfaction with overall services rendered while 36.7% received other information apart from family planning services.


Conclusion: Our clients were satisfied with the quality of family planning services being rendered. However there is need for improvement in the counselling of women before vaginal examination/ procedures. Literature should be provided to educate clients about what to expect during specific procedures. The common side effects of all methods should be fully explained to clients.


Key Words: Family Planning, Contraception, Service Quality, Audit


[Trop J Obstet Gynaecol, 2003, 20: 28-31]


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eISSN: 0189-5117