PURPOSE

This study was carried out to determine patients’ satisfaction with physiotherapy management of spinal cord injury and identify the determinants.

RELEVANCE

The outcome of this study showed the level of satisfaction of patients with spinal cord injury with their treatment and revealed some important determinants of patient satisfaction.

PARTICIPANTS

Sixty one adult spinal cord injured patients receiving treatment in the in and out-patient physiotherapy departments of four tertiary hospitals in the south western geopolitical zone of Nigeria participated in the study.

METHODS

A 4-part 35-item interview questionnaire adapted from previous studies was used for data collection. Information sought included – participant’s sociodemographic characteristics, psycho-social problems, the level, and factors affecting their satisfaction.

ANALYSIS

Data were summarized using the descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage. They were further analyzed using the chi-square test. The α-level was set at 0.05.

RESULTS

The outcome of the study showed that 90.2% of the patients were highly satisfied with their treatment. Demographic variables and the psycho-social problems were not significantly associated with their satisfaction (p>0.05). Significantly associated factors (p<0.05) include – physiotherapist’s attentiveness to patients’ complaints, physiotherapists’ comportment, teamwork, encouragement of the patient to ask questions about his/her treatment and the overall clinic organization.

CONCLUSION

Majority of spinal cord injured patients are highly satisfied with the physiotherapy management of their condition. Factors such as physiotherapist’s attentiveness to patients’ complaints, physiotherapists’ comportment, teamwork, encouragement of the patient to ask questions about his/her treatment and the overall clinic organization are the important determinants of patient satisfaction.

IMPLICATIONS

This finding underscores the importance of empathy in physiotherapy practice.

KEYWORDS

Spinal cord injury, patient satisfaction, physiotherapy.