Evidence-Based Design and Transformative Service Research application for achieving sustainable healthcare services: A developing country perspective

Abstract

Patients look carefully for detailed information pertaining to their expectations before selecting a healthcare service provider. In order to meet these expectations and achieve patient wellbeing, healthcare service providers should understand more the importance of sustainable hospital servicescape designs for their patients jointly with the common focus on functionality in the medical procedures. The importance of the servicescape in creating a healing environment for patients has been shown through Evidence-Based Design research. The rising importance of consumer wellbeing and sustainability is shown in Transformative Service Research. The aim of this study is to bridge the gap between the two research fields to develop guidelines for future hospital servicescapes in developing countries. The application of this study is on Egypt because of the deterioration of its healthcare service provision. Results indicate that patients find plants and greenery, safety, and single rooms as the most important aspects to improve their wellbeing state. These results indicate that patients want to receive their basic treatment in a healing environment without mistakes. The achieved results act as guidelines for improving servicescapes of hospitals in Egypt and other developing countries. This contributes to hospital managers by offering a more sustainable competitive advantage. Contributions for future research are related to testing the effect of the servicescape on patient wellbeing by combining all servicescape aspects in one model.