EMPLOYEES’ ATTITUDES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON CONSUMER PATRONAGE IN GOVERNMENT-OWNED HOSPITALS IN BENIN CITY, EDO STATE

Abstract

Employee attitudes in healthcare settings significantly influence patient safety, service quality, and healthcare outcomes. Government-owned hospitals in Nigeria face increasing challenges with low patient trust, poor service quality perceptions, and complaints regarding employee behavior, discrimination, and inadequate care standards. This study investigated the relationship between employee attitudes (job commitment, interest, innovative idea exchange, and enthusiasm) and consumer patronage in government-owned hospitals in Benin City, Edo State. A cross-sectional survey design was employed using clustered convenience sampling. Eighty questionnaires were distributed to full-time medical employees in government hospitals, with 60 completed responses (75% response rate). The sample included doctors (16.7%), nurses (58.3%), and other medical staff (25%). Data were collected using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis via E-views 8.1. The correlation analysis revealed significant positive relationships between all employee attitude variables and consumer patronage. Employee enthusiasm demonstrated the strongest correlation (r = 0.962, 96.2%), followed by job commitment (r = 0.601, 60.1%), innovative idea exchange (r = 0.488, 48.8%), and employee interest (r = 0.351, 35.1%). While 66.7% of respondents reported high commitment and interest levels, only 41.7% expressed fair job satisfaction, and innovative idea exchange remained low with 50% disagreement on its prevalence. Employee attitudes significantly influence consumer patronage in government-owned hospitals. Employee enthusiasm emerged as the most critical determinant. The study recommends management investment in attitude development training, enhanced quality service programs, and fostering innovative idea exchange to improve consumer patronage and restore public confidence in government healthcare facilities.