Determining the Quality of Services Provided in Delivery Room at Ayatollah Kashani Hospital (Jiroft, Iran) from the Perspective of Clients Using Service Quality Model (SQM) During Spring 2019

Abstract

Background and Objective: Topnotch services provided through preserving high quality is a prerequisite to the success of service organizations including maternity hospitals. Since maternity hospitals play an important role in providing services and promoting women’s health and that of the entire society, this study attempted to assess the quality of services provided in the maternity ward of Ayatollah Kashani Hospital in Jiroft (Iran). Method: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted on 234 women who went through vaginal delivery in Ayatollah Kashani Hospital. After 2 hours of delivery, convenience sampling was carried on the subjects in 2019. Data were collected through SERVQUAL standard questionnaire (1988), the validity and reliability of which were confirmed. Data were analyzed by SPSS using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The results indicated that there is a negative gap in all dimensions of service quality. The largest gap was observed in assurance (-5.69) while the lowest gap was in the physical dimension (-3.2). There was a significant difference between women’s expectations and perceptions across all five SERVQUAL dimensions (P<0.001). Conclusions: From the women’s perspective, the quality of services was not satisfactory and the significant difference between expected and received services indicates that managers should pay more attention to quality improvement programs in maternity hospitals so that increasing the quality of services will promote women’s health and eventually that of the entire society.