Challenges to improving patient satisfaction and patient loyalty in public hospitals during a pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic impacts all sectors and aspects of life, including in health care facilities. To meet the demands of improving health care quality, public hospitals must continue to strive to increase patient satisfaction and loyalty. However, previous studies did not provide much insight into patient satisfaction and loyalty in public hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reviewed at articles that discussed factors and strategies for increasing patient satisfaction and loyalty in public hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.This study employs a narrative review method to examine 12 research articles on patient satisfaction and patient loyalty published between January 2020 and December 2021 on the Science Direct, Google Scholar, and ProQuest databases. During a pandemic, the overall quality of health services contributes to patient satisfaction. Furthermore, hospital image, patient experience, patient trust, quality of service, customer value, perceived value, hospital health promotion, and service innovation all have an impact on patient satisfaction and loyalty. This review identified the determinants of patient loyalty and patient satisfaction in public hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to meet the demands of meeting service quality targets.