P-24 How Do Adult Males Experience Public Polyclinic Services in Barbados? A cross-sectional study

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey among adult male attendees at the 9 polyclinics in the public primary health care in Barbados by systematic sampling method of every third male. The de novo questionnaire, based on a satisfaction questionnaire from questionpro. com, obtained a Cronback alpha of 0.885. Chi-square testing, ordinal regression and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the satisfaction, number of visits and barriers to polyclinic usage.

Results: The study had a response rate of 85.5%, where 402 males responded from the 470 approached. Of the 402 males, 200 (50%) were unemployed or retired. Of the employed individuals, 100 (50%) fell under the low-income bracket of making less than BDS $50 000 annually. One hundred and eighty one (181) (45%) individuals had chronic diseases with 112 (64.1%) having hypertension. There was statistically significant association between number of visits a year with satisfaction rates (p=<0.001) with a positive Spearman’s correlation 0.173. The most frequent reason for visits were acute illnesses at 231 (64.5%) The most frequent barrier identified was wait times. The most frequent facilitator identified was information about health care, and encouragement to obtain more frequent checkups

Conclusion: Men’s health care continues to face challenges, with satisfaction proving to be a very complex factor. Males identified acute care as the most common reason for visit, with wait times being the biggest barrier. It is hoped that the results of this study can be used as a basis to improve upon the identified barriers to assist in improving healthcare.