CM Leung, HY Chan, KY Chan, AML Chung, JCW Lai, SSL Leung

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to understand the perception of Maternal and Child Health Centre clients in relation to their satisfaction with child health services, using a qualitative approach. The participants included 25 Chinese mothers with children from 18 to 24 months, who were current Maternal and Child Health Centre users, and their opinions were collected via focus group and individual interviews. Several themes were detected in relation to reasons for use of service, personal feelings and experiences, and suggestions for improvement. The issue of communication with staff members was the central theme. Participants appreciated two-way interaction with understanding staff members where they could get answers to their questions about their children in privacy. Satisfactory two-way communication between clients and staff members in a suitable environment could potentially alleviate feelings of anxiety, confusion, embarrassment and depersonalisation. Failure in communication could potentially aggravate feelings of anxiety, confusion and depersonalisation.

本研究採用定性的方法了解家長對兒童醫療服務的感受。共有 25 名中國裔母親和她們的孩子(年齡從 18 到 24 個月)參加了本研究。她們目前都是母嬰健康中心的使用者。她們的意見通過分組談話和個別談話得到。談話內容涉及使用醫療服務的原因，個人感受和經歷，以及改善服務的建議。中心議題是病人與醫務人員的溝通問題。參與者希望與體恤病人的醫務人員相互地交流，私下地得到有關自己孩子的病情的回答。病人家長與醫務人員之間令人滿意的相互交流，可以潛在地減輕病兒家長焦慮、迷茫、窘迫和喪失人格的感受。相反，不成功的相互交流則可能潛在地加重家長的上述感受。