Abedi

Background/Aims: One of the first steps in developing quality improvement programs for hospitals and reducing patients’ waiting time is to understand the customer’s expectations and then aligning the health care services with those expectations. The current study investigates the factors that cause waiting line of receiving intensive care unit services for the patients in the hospitals of Mazandaran province in 2011. 

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-base study was carried out among a randomly selected sample of 84 matrons, supervisors and ICU and CCU managers of 15 hospitals of the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Using a Likert scale, respondents rated different factors that influence their waiting time in the hospital. The collected data was then analyzed using descriptive statistics, the average of standard deviation, frequency and frequency percentage, as well as statistical T test.

Results:  Validity of the questionnaire was approved with a high Cronbach's alpha of 0.912.Average length of stay in ICU and CCU was 5.46 and 2.78 days, respectively. The analysis of factors affecting the long line of waiting showed that, in ICU, factors related to increasing needs for hospitalization averaged 4.2, (p<0.002) and factors related to equipment had a mean score of 4.2 (p<0.001); whereas in CCU, factors relating to medical personnel was 3.8 (p<0.003), and factors related to increased needs to hospitalization was 4.1 (p<0.024).

Conclusion:  Hospitals of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences face a lack of beds in their intensive care units. Besides, the increasing community needs, problems related to staffing, inadequate equipment and a lack of cooperation are the main factors that affect the patients’ waiting time. Thus, increasing the number of beds is inevitable. This study suggests two main strategies as to how tackle the issue.