Use of health services and reported satisfaction among primary school adolescents in Arusha, Tanzania

Purpose: To describe Tanzanian adolescents’ utilization of health services, their satisfaction with the health services, and determinants of their satisfaction with these services. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 1279 seventh-grade school pupils, measuring use of health services in the past 2 years, reasons for seeking health services, and satisfaction with the health services provided during the last visit. Descriptive statistics were calculated on health service utilization and satisfaction variables, and univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the factors associated with reported satisfaction with the health services. Results: Seventy-five percent of the respondents reported using modern health services only, 1.2% used traditional services only, and 10% had used both during the past 2 years. Fever was the most common reason for seeking modern health services, followed by injury. The vast majority of the respondents reported being satisfied with the services provided during the last visit. Age was the only factor significantly associated with being very satisfied with traditional health services, whereas type of health facility and discussion of the issues of sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS were significantly associated with being very satisfied with modern health services during the last visit. Conclusion: Urban primary school adolescents report using modern health services, and the majority are satisfied with the services.