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Abstract
Customer Satisfaction with Alternative Medical Services: A Case Study of
Saohai Hospital, Saraburi Province
,‡
Kanya Khunwong* , Rattana Panriansaen †
*Graduate School, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok 10300, Thailand
†
College of Allied Health Sciences, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok 10300, Thailand
‡
Corresponding author: rtana@hotmail.com
Rationale and Objectives: Although there is plenty of empirical evidence of alternative
medical services at Saohai Chaloem Phra Kiat Hospital in Saraburi province, no study has been
done on patient satisfaction with such services, particularly alternative medicine. So this survey
research was undertaken to investigate the patient satisfaction and compare the levels of patient
satisfaction with alternative medical services among clients.
Methods: The participants in this study were 400 purposively selected patients attending
alternative medical services at Saohai Hospital. Data were collected using a questionnaire and
then analyzed to determine frequency, percentage, average, and standard deviation; and t-test,
F-test, and ANOVA analyses were performed to compare means using Fisher’s Least Significant
Difference method.
Results: Most of the participants were female, aged 46-55 years, Buddhists, and civil ser-
vants or state-enterprise employees with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent background. They
had an average monthly income of over 15,000 baht, had used the services more than three times
and mostly paid for their own expenses. The overall satisfaction with six service aspects was high;
the satisfaction was highest with the premises, but lowest with the service fees. And their satisfac-
tion levels were significantly associated with gender, age, marital status, occupation, educational
level, monthly income, service access and the rights to health service (p = 0.05).
Discussion and conclusion: The clients’ educational background and health-care eligibility
are associated with their satisfaction with alternative medical services at Saohai Hospital. So in
developing such services to meet clients’ satisfaction and loyalty, their demographic characteris-
tics have to be considered first.
Key words: satisfaction, alternative medicine, Saohai Hospital