Principal Component Analysis of Indicators of Clients’ Satisfaction from Veterinary Services Delivery in a Small Animal Hospital in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Introduction: Satisfaction surveys have been used to collect clients' opinions, experiences, and needs across different services, helping ensure that services are appropriate for clients' needs. The present study aimed to determine which of the 17 selected service delivery indicators for small animals were significantly associated with overall client satisfaction at a small animal hospital in Accra, Ghana.Materials and methods: from March to October 2023, 208 respondents visiting the small animal teaching hospital in Accra, Ghana, were interviewed using purposive sampling. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to select and condense the 17 indicators that impact overall client satisfaction into a few key factors to clarify the underlying patterns and variances.Results: The current results indicated that 16 out of the 17 indicators selected for their potential impact on clients’ overall satisfaction with small animal services were retained. The indicators were regrouped into five components based on common features, accounting for approximately 70% of the variance in overall satisfaction. The first component, comprising service quality, efficiency, staff attitude, staff effectiveness, service availability, and staff competence, explained 25.3% of the variance. The second component, composed of medicine availability, vaccination availability, service accessibility, and meeting client needs, indicated 16.3% of the variance. The third component, composed of service charges and total time spent, included 10.5% of the variance. The fourth component involved medicine costs and availability, accounting for 9.3% of the variance. The fifth component, which was determined by service timeliness and gender, accounts for 7.7% of the variance.Conclusion: The current findings emphasize important indicators that should be prioritized to improve overall client satisfaction with small animal services. Addressing the identified indicators could improve service delivery for small animals.