GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT The study sought to examine the assessment and management of patients in public hospitals. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted in Akwa Ibom State. The population of the study comprised of all nurses and patients within the three senatorial districts in Akwa Ibom State. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 60 patients from the three senatorial districts making a total of 180 patients and 10 nurses from each senatorial district giving a total of 30 constituting the total of 210 respondents that constituted the sample size for the study. The Instrument used in this study for data collection was a questionnaire titled “Management of Patients in Public Hospitals and Female Nurses Roles in Akwa Ibom State Questionnaire (MPPHFNRAKSQ).” Descriptive and content validation of the instrument was carried out by an expert in test, measurement and evaluation from University of Uyo to ensure that the instrument has the accuracy, appropriateness and completeness for the study. Stratified sampling technique was used to determine the level of reliability of the instrument. The reliability coefficient obtained was 0.80 and this was high enough to justify the use of the instrument. The researcher subjected the data generated for this study to appropriate statistical techniques such as independent t-test analysis. The test for significance was done at 0.05 alpha levels. The study concluded that public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is fully funded by the government and operates solely off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. Public hospitals are increasingly important institutions for communities with vulnerable dwellers even as they faced fundamental changes in their service delivery patterns. One of the recommendations was that to meet the needs of the people, health educators, physicians, social workers, nurses and all other categories of health personnel must constantly evaluate their roles and be ready to modify them for the common good and modify the programmes that prepare them for their work.