Analyzing the Quality Gapsin the Services of Rehabilitation Centers Using the SERVQUAL Technique in Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

Background: The SERVQUAL (service quality) technique is one of the best techniques to evaluate customers’ expectations and perceptions of the quality of the services they have received. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the quality gap in the services provided by rehabilitation centers in Iran using the SERVQUAL technique. Patients and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Ahvaz, Iran. The study sample was composed of 255 patients randomly selected from 5 rehabilitation centers. The research data was collected using a valid questionnaire, consisting of 22 items and 5 dimensions of service quality. Results: Most of the patients included in this study were female (72.9%), and the mean age of the patients was 40 ± 13.2 years. The total mean scores of the patients’ expectations and perceptions were 3.73 (SD = 0.3) and 3.56 (SD = 0.5), respectively. According to the gap analysis, there was a negative quality gap in each of the five SERVQUAL dimensions, but in the assurance dimension, this gap was very low, and not found to be significant. The quality gap was more negative in the tangiblesfactor (-0.33) and reliability (-0.30) than in the other factors. Conclusions: There was a negative gap between the patients’ expectations and what they actually perceived in the studied rehabilitation centers (with the exception of one public clinic); therefore, improvements are needed across all five dimensions.