Evaluation of Satisfaction of Somali Patients Coming to Turkey for Medical Tourism

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 1, 128 - 143

Naima Ahmed Ali , Nazan Torun

https://doi.org/10.31201/ijhmt.1637985

Abstract

Aim:In this study, the satisfaction levels of Somali patients who came to Turkey for medical tourism were evaluated.
Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, a questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaires were administered face-to-face by the researcher between July 20, 2021, and May 20, 2022, in hospitals operating in Istanbul and Ankara, which are the most preferred hospitals for Somali patients.
Results:As a result of the study, it was determined that the majority of Somali patients coming to Turkey for medical tourism were male, had postgraduate education, had an average age of 35 years and an average monthly income of $921.39. It was determined that the majority of Somali patients who preferred Turkey mostly for IVF, urology and orthopedics treatments did not have health insurance and used intermediary organizations for their travels. The average satisfaction level of Somali patients is 3.30 in general. The top three reasons with the highest satisfaction average are "Quality of patient care", "Cheaper travel costs compared to other countries", "Frequent visits to Turkey for medical treatment", "Religious and cultural proximity", "Free/affordable travel tours after treatment", while the reasons with the lowest satisfaction average are "First class doctors, nurses and medical staff" and "High-tech medical equipment".
Conclusion: It was determined that the patients were satisfied with the service they received, would choose Turkey again for their treatment and would recommend it to others.

Keywords

Health Tourism, Medical tourism, Satisfaction Somalia Patients, Medical tourism in Turkey

Ethical Statement

Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi Sosyal ve Beşeri Etik Kurul Onayı (14.06.2021 tarihli ve 8 sayılı)

Supporting Institution

yok

Thanks

yok

Türkiye’ye Medikal Turizm Amacıyla Gelen Somalili Hastaların Memnuniyetlerinin Değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışmada Türkiye’de medikal turizm kapsamında hizmet alan Somali uyruklu hastaların aldıkları hizmetin çeşitli boyutlarına yönelik memnuniyet düzeyleri incelendi.
Yöntem: Kesitsel tanımlayıcı tipte olan bu çalışmada verileri toplamak için anket kullanıldı. Anketler, araştırmacı tarafında yüz yüze olarak, Somali uyruklu hastaların en çok tercih ettikleri İstanbul ve Ankara İlinde faaliyet gösteren hastanelerde 20 Temmuz 2021 – 20 Mayıs 2022 tarihleri arasında uygulandı.
Bulgular: Çalışma sonucunda Türkiye’ye medikal turizm amacıyla gelen Somali uyruklu hastaların çoğunluğunun erkek, lisansüstü eğitime sahip oldukları, yaş ortalamasın 35 ve ortalama aylık gelirlerinin 921,39$ olduğu belirlendi. Türkiye’yi daha çok tüp bebek, üroloji ve ortopedi tedavileri için tercih eden Somali uyruklu hastaların çoğunluğunun sağlık sigortasının olmadığı, seyahatlerinde aracı kuruluş kullandığı tespit edildi. Somali uyruklu hastaların memnuniyet düzeyi ortalaması genel olarak 3,30’dur. En çok memnuniyet ortalamasına sahip olan ilk üç neden sırasıyla “Hasta bakımının kalitesi”, “Diğer ülkelere göre daha ucuz seyahat masrafları”, “Tıbbi tedavi için sık sık Türkiye'yi ziyaret etme”, “Dini ve kültürel yakınlık”, “Tedavi sonrası ücretsiz / uygun fiyatlı seyahat turları” iken en az memnuniyet oranına sahip olan neden ise “Birinci sınıf doktorlar, hemşireler ve sağlık personeli” ve “Yüksek teknolojiye sahip tıbbi ekipman” olarak belirlendi.
Sonuç: Hastaların almış oldukları hizmetten memnun olduğu, tedavileri için tekrar Türkiye'yi tercih edeceği ve başkalarına tavsiye edeceği belirlendi.

Keywords

Medikal turizm, Memnuniyet, Sağlık Turizm, Somalili Hasta

References

• Akdu, U. (2014). Evaluatıon Of Servıce Qualıty, Customer Satısfactıon And Customer Loyalty Of Medical Tourısm. PhD dissertation, Akdeniz University.
• Aksoy, C. and Süreyya, Y. (2019). Criteria of Health Tourists to Choose Hospitals: Executive Opinions. Journal of Health and Social Welfare Research, 1:2 27-39.
• Aydın, U. and Demirel, G. (2011). A Research Related to The Defınıtıon of The Expectatıons of Customers That Utılıze from The Health Tourısm Companıes in Bolu Cıty. Electronic Journal of Vocational Colleges, 1:106-115.
• Aydin, G. and Karamehmet, B. (2017). Factors Affecting Health Tourism, and İnternational Healthcare Facility Choice. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 11: 11-23.
• Bahar, B. and Akyürek, B. D. (2022). Qualitative Research on The Development of Medical Tourism in Turkey. Journal of Academic Value Studies, 8, 3:316-325.
• Balcı, S. (2019). Expectatıons Related to The Presentatıon of Health Servıce in The Scope of Health Tourısm: Specıal Hospıtal Research in Istanbul. Social Sciences Studies Journal, 5, 32: 1819-1834.
• Balkin, R. S. and Sheperis, C. J. (2011). Evaluating and Reporting Statistical Power in Counseling Research. Journal of Counseling and Development, 89, 3: 268-272.
• Bayrak, Ö. A. and Dalkıran, G. B. (2020). An Evaluation of Health Tourism Intermediary Institution WEB Sites: The Case of Turkey. Balkan and Near Eastern Journal of Social Sciences, 6: 171-180.
• Cemali, S. and Derin, A. U. (2019). Medical Tourism and a Research About Applications in Antalya: Example of Akdeniz University Hospital. International Journal of Current Approaches In Language, Education and Social Sciences, 1, 2:121-143.
• Cohen, J. (1998). Statistical Power Analysis For The Behavioural Sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale.
• Crooks, V. A., Cohen, I. G., Adams, K., et al (2015). Inbound Medical Tourism to Barbados: A Qualitative Examination of Local Lawyers; Prospective Legal And Regulatory Concerns. BMC Health Service Research, 15, 1:1–8.
• Demir, H. (2020). The Effect of Perceived Value and Satisfaction Levels af Patients on Revisit Attitudes in Medical Tourism. Master Thesis. Sakarya University.
• Forgione, D. A. and Smith, P. C. (2007). Medical Tourism and İts İmpact on The US Health Care System. Journal of Health Care Finance, 34: 27-35.
• Gündüz, F. F., Gündüz, S., and Yavuz, H. B. (2019). Analysis of The Factors Affecting The Demand for Turkey's Health Tourism: A Gravity Model Approach. Igdır Univertisty Journal Social Science, 17: 717-740.
• Heung, V. C., Kucukusta, D. and Song, H. (2010). A Conceptual Model of Medical Tourism: Implications For Future Research. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 27: 236-251.
• Joint Commission International (2024). JCI-accredited organizations. https://www.jointcommissioninternational.org/who-we-are/accreditedorganizations/#sort=%40aoname%20ascending
• Iordache, C., Ciochină, I., and Roxana, P. (2013). Medical Tourism–Between The Content and Socio-Economic Development Goals. Development Strategies. Rom Journal Marketing, 1: 31–42.
• Kılınç, I. (2017). A Fıeld Study on Servıce Qualıty and Customer Satısfactıon in Medical Tourism Industry in Turkey. Suleyman Demirel University Visionary Journal, 8: 130-143 Medical Tourism Index. 2020-2021. https://www.medicaltourism.com/mti/home Ministry of Health. USHAŞ. https://www.ushas.com.tr/
• Ministry of Trade (2024). https://ticaret.gov.tr/haberler/saglik-turizminde-kuresel-merkez-turkiye
• Polat, G., and Aydın, Ş. (2021). The Mediation Role of Customer Trust and Customer Satisfaction in The Relationship Between Medical Tourists’ Experiential Quality Perceptions and Intention to Recommend. Tourism Academic Journal, 9: 17-37.
• Sanjivan Gill SS. Medical Tourism Market. https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/medical-tourism-market. Seo, Byung, Ro. and Park, S. H. (2018). Policies to Promote Medical Tourism in Korea: A Narrative Review. Iranian Journal Of Public Health, 47: 1077.
• Tengilimoğlu, D. (2021). Health Tourism And State Support And İncentives. Journal of Life Economics, 8: 1-10. Turkish Health Foundation Report. Health Tourism in the World and in Turkey-2010 Situation Assessment Report and Solution Suggestions. Ankara: Efil Publishing House
• TÜROFED (2019). https://www.turofed.org.tr/turizm-raporu.
• Vovk, V., Beztelesna, L. and Pliashko, O. (2021). Identification of Factors for The Development of Medical Tourism in The World. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 18: 11205