PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACT OF HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS’ TREATMENT ON PATIENT SATISFACTION AND SERVICE UTILISATION: EVIDENCE FROM KAURA GOJE PHC, NASSARAWA LGA, KANO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the psychosocial impact of healthcare practitioners’ treatment on patient satisfaction and service utilisation at Kaura Goje Primary Health Care (PHC) in the Nassarawa Local Government Area (LGA) of Kano State, Nigeria. The study was guided by Donabedian's (1966) Structure-Process-Outcome model of healthcare quality and Rosenstock's (1974) Health Belief Model (HBM), positing that care quality is determined by the interplay of structural conditions (resources, staffing, infrastructure), process elements (interpersonal interactions, clinical procedures), and patient outcomes (satisfaction, well-being, utilisation behaviour).The objectives were to assess the quality of practitioner treatment, examine its psychosocial effects on patients, evaluate patient satisfaction, and determine the relationship between practitioner treatment and patient outcomes. A convergent mixed-methods descriptive survey design was adopted. Data were collected from 112 patients selected through a systematic sampling technique and five healthcare practitioners through in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression (MLR), while qualitative responses were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that overall patient satisfaction was moderate (x̄ = 3.78), with emotional satisfaction recording the lowest mean score (x̄ = 3.65). Regression analysis showed a strong positive and statistically significant relationship between practitioner treatment and patient satisfaction, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis. Psychosocial factors explained 62% of the variance in patient satisfaction (R² = 0.62), with psychosocial well-being emerging as the strongest predictor (β = 0.48). The study concluded that the quality of interpersonal interaction between healthcare practitioners and patients is a critical determinant of satisfaction and continued service utilisation. The study recommends recruiting additional healthcare personnel, implementing effective drug supply management to prevent stock-outs, and providing regular training for health practitioners in empathetic communication and psychosocial care to enhance patient-centred healthcare delivery.