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Impact of Health Facility Orientation on Patient Knowledge of Available Healthcare Services in Nigerian Public Hospitals

Abstract

Knowledge of available healthcare services is an important component of effective healthcare utilization, patient navigation, timely access to appropriate care, and patient-centred healthcare delivery. Patients attending public hospitals in Nigeria may have limited knowledge of the services provided by different departments, clinics, diagnostic units, specialist services, emergency services, pharmacy services, laboratory services, referral pathways, and other healthcare units within the facility. Limited knowledge may result in inappropriate use of services, delays in accessing care, unnecessary movement between departments, missed opportunities for preventive services, and increased patient frustration. Health facility orientation provides an opportunity to familiarize patients with available healthcare services, service locations, operating procedures, referral pathways, and appropriate points of care. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of health facility orientation on patient knowledge of available healthcare services in Nigerian public hospitals. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Health Literacy Framework, and Social Ecological Model. The Health Belief Model explains how patients' perceptions of the importance of available healthcare services, perceived benefits of appropriate service utilization, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action may influence their knowledge and healthcare decisions. The Health Literacy Framework emphasizes patients' ability to access, understand, appraise, and use healthcare information when navigating available health services. The Social Ecological Model emphasizes the influence of individual, interpersonal, institutional, environmental, and socioeconomic factors on patients' access to and understanding of healthcare services. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how health facility orientation may influence patient knowledge of available healthcare services in Nigerian public hospitals. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise adults aged 18 years and above attending selected public hospitals across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, public hospitals, departments or clinics, and eligible patients. Health facility orientation will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to orientation sessions, timing and duration of orientation, information on hospital departments and clinics, locations of service points, diagnostic services, laboratory and pharmacy services, specialist clinics, emergency services, preventive healthcare services, appointment procedures, referral pathways, patient-information desks, complaint and feedback channels, operating hours, and available support services. Patient knowledge of available healthcare services will be assessed using indicators such as ability to identify appropriate hospital departments, knowledge of available diagnostic and laboratory services, awareness of specialist and emergency services, knowledge of pharmacy and other support services, understanding of referral pathways, ability to identify where to obtain information or assistance, knowledge of operating procedures, and ability to identify appropriate services for common healthcare needs. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized healthcare-service knowledge assessment tools, scenario-based questions, hospital orientation records, facility information materials, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental intervention is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize patients' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, healthcare utilization patterns, previous hospital experience, sources of healthcare information, exposure to facility orientation, and knowledge of available healthcare services. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of health facility orientation on patient knowledge of available healthcare services. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, knowledge scores before and after the orientation intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that health facility orientation has a significant positive impact on patient knowledge of available healthcare services in Nigerian public hospitals. Patients exposed to clear, practical, and patient-centred facility orientation are expected to demonstrate greater knowledge of available healthcare services and appropriate service points than patients without comparable orientation. Orientation may improve patients' understanding of hospital departments, specialist clinics, diagnostic and laboratory services, pharmacy services, emergency care, preventive services, referral pathways, and sources of assistance within the facility. Practical facility tours, visual signs, maps, information desks, and simple explanations may reduce confusion and improve patients' ability to navigate the hospital. Improved knowledge may also reduce unnecessary movement between departments, inappropriate service utilization, and delays caused by patients' uncertainty about where to obtain care. However, overcrowded facilities, inadequate signage, language barriers, low health literacy, limited orientation personnel, frequent changes in service locations, and poor communication systems may reduce the effectiveness of orientation alone. The study therefore expects accessible, culturally appropriate, multilingual, practical, and sustained health facility orientation, supported by effective signage and patient-information systems, to contribute significantly to improved patient knowledge of available healthcare services in Nigerian public hospitals. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on health facility orientation, patient navigation, healthcare-service knowledge, health literacy, healthcare utilization, patient-centred care, hospital communication, health education, healthcare quality, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, state ministries of health, public hospitals, hospital administrators, healthcare professionals, patient-relations departments, health-information units, public health practitioners, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving patient navigation and healthcare access. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating health facility orientation into hospital admission and registration processes, improving hospital signage and information materials, strengthening patient-information desks, developing multilingual orientation resources, improving referral communication, and implementing sustainable patient-centred orientation programmes that enhance knowledge and appropriate utilization of healthcare services across Nigerian public hospitals.

Keywords: Health facility orientation, patient knowledge, healthcare services, public hospitals, patient navigation, health literacy, healthcare utilization, patient education, hospital communication, patient-centred care, Nigeria, public health.