Primary Health Care Consumers’ Perception of Quality of Care and Its Determinants in North-Central Nigeria

Background: The importance of incorporating the perspective of the patient when evaluating and designing health care programs is now widely recognized. The objective of this study was to assess consumers’ perception of quality of care and its determinants among Primary Health Care Consumers in Ilorin, Nigeria.Methodology: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among consumers of Primary Health Care in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State. Sample size of 250 was determined using Fishers formula and multistage sampling technique was used to select respondents. Semi structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used and data analysis was done using Epi-info. Frequency tables and cross-tabulations were generated with a statistical significance p-value pre-determined at less than 0.05. Results: The average mean perception score of quality of care was 13.56 + 4.01 out of a maximum of 20. The highest mean perception was in the domain of lack of interruption during consultation (13.79 + 4.11) while the lowest was in the domain of respect for patients’ opinion (13.03 + 3.86). Consumers that were given adequate information from doctors are 210 (84.0%), those that were motivated to continue seeking healthcare are 211 (84.4%), while 178 (71.2%) felt that the consulting room provided enough privacy. Factors that affected satisfaction with treatment were age, sex, educational level, and income level.        Conclusion: Perception of care was lowest in the domains of privacy and respect for patients’ opinion. There is need to train Primary Health Care providers on improvement of quality of care.