Modified SERVQUAL Questionnaire Research Articles

Patient perception of service quality to preanesthetic oral examination: a cross-sectional study using the SERVQUAL model.

A phase-III interdisciplinary quality improvement program, the preanesthetic oral examination (PAOE), was implemented as a new program in an academic medical center to prevent perioperative dental injuries. This study was aimed at surveying the perceived service quality and satisfaction of patients who had undergone PAOE based on the SERVQUAL model. This cross-sectional survey was conducted at the Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital using convenience sampling. Patients referred for PAOE (PAOE group) and those who had voluntarily availed dental services (control group) were recruited. A modified SERVQUAL questionnaire was used to assess the perceived service quality and patient satisfaction with dental services. Cronbach's alpha for SERVQUAL was 0.861. We enrolled 286 (68.8%) and 130 (31.2%) participants in the PAOE and control groups, respectively. The path analysis revealed that the PAOE group scored lower in dimensions of reliability (β = -0.074, P = 0.003), responsiveness (β = -0.148, P = 0.006), and empathy (β = -0.140, P = 0.011). Furthermore, reliability (β = 0.655, P < 0.001) and responsiveness (β = 0.147, P = 0.008) showed a direct effect on patient satisfaction. Overall, participants were highly satisfied with the dental services. The PAOE group showed lower satisfaction and perceived quality of dental services compared to the control group. Although implementing an interdisciplinary program reduces the perceived service quality, its influence is limited. Employing an interdisciplinary teamwork is a win-win strategy encouraged to improve patient safety and reduce malpractice claims. Future suggestions should focus on establishing waiting times that are considered reasonable by patients. Patient-centered education related to the risk of perioperative dental injuries should be provided, and awareness of oral conditions for patient safety should be improved. Moreover, interprofessional education in continuous and undergraduate programs is necessary to improve professional quality.

Assessing Quality Gap of Outpatient Service in Public Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study in China.

In China, most ambulatory care is provided by public hospitals. However, many public hospitals' outpatient services fall short of meeting patients' demands. This study aimed to assess the quality gap of outpatient service in public hospitals by using an indicator system developed based on the SERVQUAL model. This cross-sectional study was conducted from June to July 2019 at 13 public hospitals in Shenzhen. In total, 1876 outpatients were included in the study, and participants were asked to fill out the modified SERVQUAL questionnaire. The scale consists of 23 items scattered in 6 dimensions, including Safety, Reliability, Responsiveness, Tangibles, Assurance, and Empathy. Descriptive analysis, t-test or F-test, and optimal scale analysis were performed. The patients' expectation of outpatient services exceeded the hospitals' services they perceived and resulted in negative gaps between the mean expectation and perception scores for each indicator. The gaps were as follows: Reliability = Empathy > Responsiveness > Safety > Assurance > Tangibles. Quality gaps differed significantly between age, education, and hospital type. The overall impression mean scores are 7.45 ± 1.18 (out of 9 points) and 7.27 ± 1.23 for general and specialized hospitals. And the willingness to recommend the hospital to others mean scores are 4.06 ± 0.62 (out of 5 points) and 3.92 ± 0.65 for general and specialized hospitals. Patients' impression of the hospital and willingness to recommend the hospital were significantly correlated with age, citizenship, health insurance, referral type, frequency of visits, Safety, Tangibles, Reliability, and Assurance. The outpatient service provided by Shenzhen's public hospitals did not meet patients' needs. Hospital administrators should evaluate the quality gap of outpatient services to identify the flaws within the delivery of ambulatory care and make improvements according to the findings to drive patient-centered care.

An Appraisal of the Quality of Outpatient Healthcare Services and Patients’ Satisfaction at a Nigerian Mission Health Facility

The cardinal goal of the hospital is to provide quality healthcare services to the patients, which is measured by patient’s satisfaction. This study aimed to determine patients’ knowledge and satisfaction about the factors that contribute to quality of outpatients’ healthcare services, to determine whether socio-demographic factors have any effect on patient satisfaction and to determine the effect of educational intervention on their knowledge and satisfaction. A quasi-experimental study (in which before-after technique) was carried over six months period. Systematic sampling technique was used to recruit adult patients exiting the out-patient department of the hospital. A semi-structured, interviewer administered modified SERVQUAL questionnaire was used to assess satisfaction and knowledge, followed by educational intervention and subsequently post intervention assessment after two months. The data generated were analysed using SPSS software version, 26. Three hundred and fifty adult patients participated in the pre-intervention stage while 165 patients were interviewed post-intervention. The proportion of the participants who had good knowledge pre-intervention, was high (91.7%) while 88.3% were satisfied with the quality of healthcare services. The empathy domain had the highest mean score of 4.02 while the responsiveness domain had lowest mean score of 3.29. Post-intervention, the knowledge level improved from 91.7% to 95.2% and satisfaction improved from 88.3% to 96.2% with mean score of 4.14. Gender did not have any influence on the level of knowledge and satisfaction across the various domains. However, there was increased satisfaction among the older patients (≥50 years) which was statistically significant [Tangible domain (X2 = 22.621, P = 0.000)]. Educational intervention was effective in improving level of knowledge about the factors that influence quality of care and level of satisfaction with the quality of care received at the hospital. The hospital management needs to prioritize interventions to improve the responsiveness of the services provided in the hospital to improve the quality of service and enhance patients’ satisfaction.

Service quality in outpatient teaching hospital pharmacies based on the SERVQUAL model: An assessment in the south of Iran.

The present study assessed the quality of services in the outpatient teaching hospital pharmacies affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2019 according to the SERVQUAL model to identify areas for improvement. The research was cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical. Patients referred to the outpatient teaching hospital pharmacies affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences formed the study population. The sample size was 300 people chosen through the stratified sampling method proportional to the size as well as the convenience sampling method. The modified SERVQUAL questionnaire developed by Mohammadi et al. (in Eftekhar Ardabili H, Akbari Haghighi F, Mahmoudi M, Poorreza A. Evaluation of service quality based on the patients' expectations and perceptions in Zanjan hospitals. J Sch Public Health Inst Public Health Res. 2003;2:71-84) was used for data collection. Data analysis was performed by SPSS 24.0 using statistical tests of paired t-test, independent t-test and ANOVA. A P-value of <0.05 showed statistical significance. Moreover, EXCEL 2013 was used to draw the graphs. The results showed that the participants had higher expectations regarding the quality of pharmacy services in all six dimensions compared to their perceptions (negative gaps) and the difference was statistically significant (P <0.05). The largest gap was in the 'access' dimension (G = -0.44 ± 1.15) and the smallest one was in the 'reliability' dimension (G = -0.21 ± 1.30). Also, the mean of overall quality gap, among the patients' demographic characteristics, had a significant relationship only with having supplementary health insurance coverage (P = 0.03). It seems that hospital managers and technical managers of pharmacies should make several interventions in the field of staff empowerment and training empathy and teamwork skills. Also, strengthening the system of receiving quick and easy feedback from patients and paying attention to the voice of customers can pave the way for hospital managers and technical managers of pharmacies to enhance the service quality with subsequence reduction of the existing gaps.

Total Quality Management System of Commercial Services Department of Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), Cebu City

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the TQM practice and customer satisfaction levels of the Commercial Services Department in MCWD. A total of fifty MCWD employees and two hundred ninety-eight MCWD customers participated in the study. The sampling method used is Random sampling. Forty-six of the employees were rank and file, while four were managers. Employees answered a modified TQM questionnaire onsite or within the MCWD main office. Statistic mean was used to compare differences between rank &amp; file and managers’ responses. Meanwhile, two hundred ninety-eight customers answered a modified SERVQUAL questionnaire onsite or online. The SERVQUAL questionnaire is a tool that requires customers to rate both their expected and experienced (perceived) services received from MCWD. The researchers hypothesize that there are no significant differences between the expected service quality and the experienced service quality of customers. The study used T-test statistics to test this hypothesis. Results revealed a gap in all MCWD TQM Dimensions; this is specifically true regarding their Communication processes. Likewise, the results of the SERVQUAL survey exposed customers’ dissatisfaction with the majority of the services rendered by MCWD - in particular, the personal services customers received. The findings imply a deficiency in MCWD’s implementation of the TQM practices, specifically on the information exchange between various levels in the company. Additionally, the results suggest that MCWD should enhance their service, especially on personal servicing. Finally, the researchers provided recommendations to aid MCWD in the improvement of their existing practices and enhance their service quality.

EVALUATIONS OF SERVICE QUALITY: THE USE OF IMPORTANCE- PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS AND SERVQUAL IN A SOUTHERN TAIWAN'S HOT SPRING RESORT

Importance-performance analysis (IPA) is a convenient tool for service quality evaluation. Likewise, SERVQUAL and the model of service quality is also another useful tool for service quality evaluation. How hot spring service providers position themselves and differentiate themselves from competitors is critical to their success. In this study, both IPA and SERVQUAL and the model of service quality are used to evaluate a hot spring service provider in Taiwan for comparisons. A modified SERVQUAL questionnaire was distributed to hot spring resort customers with 300 valid responses. Results from IPA indicated the “Reliability” as the service weakness, while SERVQUAL and the model of service quality identified the “Responsiveness” as the largest service gap. Using these tools, the service providers can identify the critical factors for improvements from different perspectives. Implications of both tools for service providers and researchers were discussed.

Home Mechanical Ventilation: A Patient's Perspective Survey Study.

Background: An increasing number of patients included in home mechanical ventilation (HMV) care has been under observation for many years. The study aimed to assess the patients opinion concerning the expected and perceived quality of care in an HMV system and a patient’s satisfaction with care. Methods: In 2017, patients treated with HMV were surveyed in Poland with the modified SERVQUAL questionnaire. Results: One hundred correctly completed surveys were analyzed. Patient Satisfaction Index was high. In every examined area, the expectations were statistically significant larger than the perception of the services. The biggest gap was in the tangibility dimension and the smallest gap was in the empathy dimension. Perceived respect and understanding for a patient’s needs are close to the expectations. Conclusions: The level of satisfaction with health care among patients treated with HMV in majority of investigated components is high. Moreover, the difference between perceived and expected quality of health care in the HMV system was relatively small in the opinion of the patients themselves. Further investigations with alternative methods are needed.

Service Quality of Special Libraries in Kerala, India

This study evaluates the service quality of special libraries in Kerala, India. A modified SERVQUAL questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 800 library users. The analysis revealed that the service quality of the libraries is not up to the expectations of their users. The users have high expectations but they perceived low. The libraries have to update their resources and services regularly in order to meet the changing needs of their users. Proper user orientation programs need to be conducted. The study results suggest the elements to be improved for enhancing the service quality of special libraries in India.

The assessment of perceived service quality dimensions of hotel industry in Bangladesh

This research aims to identify the gaps between customer expectation and customer perception on service quality of the hotel industry in Bangladesh based on five dimensions of service quality, namely "reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles". This study surveyed 300 respondents from different tourist spots of Cox's Bazar and Saint Martin based on self-administered "modified SERVQUAL questionnaire". Data were analysed using "mean, reliability test, independent sample t-test and one –way ANOVA test and single analysis of variance (ANOVA)" via SPSS version 22. The study adopts a different statistical test based on the primary data. Results indicated that tourists' perceptions failed to light their demand on the service quality of hotel sectors in Bangladesh. Results also show that tourists' expectations and perceptions in the case of tangibles and empathy dimensions are not significant in an independent sample t-test based on Gender and nationality respectively. However, in one-way ANOVA t-tests based on age, educational background and occupation; there is a significant difference between customer expectations and perception in the case of only two dimensions, which is reliability and empathy. The outcomes are anticipated to provide necessary guidelines to the service entrepreneurs for boosting the customer satisfaction level by identifying the gaps of the hotel industry in Bangladesh.

Employing structural topic modelling to explore perceived service quality attributes in Airbnb accommodation

Abstract This study employs the structural topic model to extract service quality attributes from 242,020 Airbnb reviews in Malaysia. 22 service related topics were extracted from the corpus and four topics have not appeared in previous Airbnb studies. A widely used modified SERVQUAL questionnaire (MSQ) is cross-validated in this study by comparing its service quality attributes with the results of the topic modelling, which indicates that this MSQ can cover general Airbnb service quality attributes. This study also examines the different preferences of Malaysian and international Airbnb users and the changing patterns of the top six service quality attributes during a five-year period. The findings reveal that Malaysian Airbnb users care more about the appearance and location of the property, and international Airbnb users pay more attention to whether the property can accommodate a group of people. In addition, communication with the host is found to play an increasingly important role in Airbnb users’ lodging experiences.

Evaluation of Service Quality From the Patients’ Viewpoint in the Oncology Setting of a University Hospital in Iran

Background: Hospitals are one of the most important units in providing healthcare services. The assessment of the quality of provided services is essential in these settings. Patient satisfaction is one of the key indicators of service quality in healthcare organizations. Objectives: This study aimed at investigating the gap between the perceptions and expectations of service recipients in Shohada-e-Tajrish Hospital (Tehran, Iran), using the SERVQUAL model in 2020. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with cancer, who were upon discharge from Shohada-e-Tajrish Hospital. Patients (&gt; 18 years) with a cancer diagnosis, who were being discharged from the oncology ward of the hospital, were included in this study. The sample size was estimated at 118. The required information was collected, using the modified SERVQUAL questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed in SPSS version 20, using a paired t test and one-sample t-test. Results: The results showed that the quality of the provided services from the patients’ perspective was significantly lower than their expectations. The mean gap between the expectations and perceptions of patients was significantly above zero (P &lt; 0.001). The most influential factor in improving patient satisfaction with the quality of services was assurance, followed by reliability, while the least effective factor was empathy. The correlation coefficient between the general status of provided services from the patients’ point of view and loyalty was 0.740 (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: The findings of the present study indicated that patient expectations were higher than their satisfaction. Therefore, hospital authorities should take major steps to improve the quality of services, especially reliability and responsiveness, through proper planning, prioritization of services, and review of processes contributing to patient expectations. The existing gaps can also be addressed by considering the perspectives of patients as the clients of healthcare organizations.

Possibilities of Turning Passive Rural Areas into Tourist Attractions Through Attained Service Quality

Abstract This paper gives an overview of the quality of tourism service in rural areas of the South Bačka District, one of the most economically developed parts of Serbia. The main objective of the research is to determine the correlation between the expected and perceived values of the quality of service by collecting and processing data. The modified SERVQUAL questionnaire was applied in the study, and all obtained data were analyzed in the SPSS software 23.00. As a result of the survey, it was found that tourists had significantly higher expectations than perceived service. The results obtained can serve for broader thematic research and contribute to the definition of appropriate corrective actions to improve the quality of tourism services in the selected rural area. Moreover, these are the key propositions to start an initiative for the improvement of tourism services in any undeveloped rural setting with a tourism offer. The results provide tourism organizers and local authorities with important visitors’ perpceptions pertaining to the quality of rural tourism service.

Exploring Service Quality of Low Cost Airlines

Service quality is identified as a crucial factor in differentiating service and gaining competitive advantage in the service industry. This study seeks to understand the significant attributes of low-cost airlines' (LCAs) service quality through measuring the differences between passengers' expectations and perceptions. Using a modified SERVQUAL questionnaire, differences between passengers' expectations and perceptions regarding LCAs' service quality appeared to exist. It was also found that the responsiveness dimension is the most important dimension of LCAs' service quality. Attitudes toward baggage-overweight fees was considered very significant as it received the largest gap in the passengers' relative expectations and perceptions.

The gap between student perceptions and expectations of quality support services at the University of South Africa

ABSTRACTAssessing service quality gaps in Open Distance Learning (ODL) universities is essential to promote quality and develop programmes to manage deficiencies. The purpose of this study was to compare students’ expectations and perceptions of student support services, to determine service quality gaps. Data were collected from a sample of ODL students using a modified SERVQUAL questionnaire consisting of four quality dimensions: Tangibles, Reliability, Delivery, and Assurance. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used to analyze the data. The results showed that students’ expectations were higher than their perceptions in three service quality dimensions with the tangibles dimension having the largest gaps. Students’ expectations were not met in Tangibles, Reliability, and Delivery dimensions. Assurance was the only dimension rated highest for perceived service.

Using SERVQUAL Model to Assess Hospital Information System Service Quality

Background: Assessment of hospital information system (HIS) service quality helps to meet the needs of users and a strategy to expand the interaction between HIS developers and the users. SERVQUAL is an extensively used technique to measure the service quality of information systems. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess HIS service quality by the SERVQUAL model in the teaching hospitals affiliated to Urmia University of Medical Sciences (UMSU). Methods: This study is a descriptive analysis carried out in UMSU teaching hospitals in 2017. The sample was comprised of 270 users selected randomly via multi-stage cluster sampling. The modified SERVQUAL questionnaire, which included five dimensions, was used to collect data. The gap between the perceptions and the expectations of the users was calculated and the significance of scores was tested. Results: The highest quality gaps in the five dimensions were related to responsiveness (-1.52) and reliability (-1.34) and also the lowest quality gap was related to tangibles (-0.95). There were significant differences between perceptions and expectations of the users in all SERVQUAL dimensions (P &lt; 0.001). This implied that the quality of the delivered services was lower than what the users expected. Conclusions: Given the greatest gap in responsiveness and reliability, it is essential that HIS vendors focus on providing HIS support and updating services and allocate IT staff with the right knowledge and skills to provide the trust needed to use HIS services in the users.

Service Quality of Libraries of Indian Council of Agricultural Research Institutes of Kerala, India

&lt;p&gt;The purpose of this study is to measure the service quality of the libraries of Indian Council of Agricultural Research institutes in Kerala. Survey method with modified SERVQUAL questionnaire was employed to elicit responses from a representative sample of 180 users of the libraries. It is revealed that the ICAR institute libraries lack service quality. While the libraries compared, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute Library has shown quality to an extent and library of Central Tuber Crops Research Institute has shown least service quality. Library collection dimension was found as the most expected dimension whereas library staff dimension was the most perceived dimension. The highest service quality gap was identified with library service dimension and the lowest gap was identified with library staff dimension. Regular user need assessment and feedback mechanism should be done to improve the service quality of the libraries. The study can be utilised for developing quality enhancement practices in special libraries in India. &lt;/p&gt;

MUTU LAYANAN MENURUT PELANGGAN LABORATORIUM KLINIK (Service Quality Regarding to The Clinical Laboratory Customer)

Customer satisfaction survey for outpatient laboratory customer is routinely carried out in Clinical Laboratory InstallationRSUP Dr. Sardjito using modified SERVQUAL questionnaire. One advantage of using SERVQUAL is service provider will be able to monitorits service quality dynamics using standardized tool. Changes in one's service quality can be measured using perceived quality changesbased on gap scorebetween different periods. All these years, RSUP Dr. Sardjito has not evaluated gap score changes in all survey period.This study aims to know service quality measured by perceived service quality on Customer Satisfaction Survey Period of Semester II2013 and Semester I 2014 by comparison. This is an observational non-experimental study using data from Customer SatisfactionSurvey in Clinical Laboratory Installation RSUP Dr. Sardjito Semester II 2013 and Semester I 2014. Data was analysed using SERVQUALmethod and presented descriptively as text and table. There were 231 and 229 responders respectively in Customer Satisfaction SurveySemester II 2013 and Semester I 2014. There were decreases in all but empathy service dimension. Decrease of expectation was foundin all SERVQUAL dimensions. The decrease of expectation exceeded perception decrease resulting in a rise of gap score from Semester II2013 to Semester I 2014 hence indicating an improvement of perceived service quality. There was an improvement of perceived servicequality according to external customer of Clinical Laboratory Installation RSUP Dr. Sardjito in Semester I 2014 compared to SemesterII 2013.

Assessing the quality of dental services using SERVQUAL model

The measurement of service quality had an important role in managing service provided, diagnosing the problem, and assessing service performance. Patient satisfaction is one of the key indicators of quality in health-care organizations. This study aimed to measure the service quality gap of patients' perceptions and expectations in five dimensions at a military Specialized Dental Clinic in Iran using SERVQUAL tool. This was a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study conducted at a Specialized Dental Clinic affiliated to the Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehran in 2013. All 385 patients referring to the studied clinic during two working shifts of morning and evening in one month, August, were selected. The required data were collected using the modified SERVQUAL questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 through statistical tests including Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The results showed that the quality of services provided to patients was significantly lower than their expectations and the quality gaps were statistically significant in all studied dimensions (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the highest and lowest quality gap was related to empathy (-1.16) and reliability (-0.61), respectively. According to the results, the managers of this clinic should take steps toward improving the quality of services in all dimensions, especially responsiveness and empathy, through planning properly, prioritizing services, and reviewing processes with regard to the patients' expectations.

Reliability and Validity of Modified Service Quality Instrument (SERVQUAL) in Patients' Motivation to Adhere to Insulin Therapy.

Introduction:Diabetes is progressive condition which requires various ways of treatment. Adequate therapy prescribed in the right time helps patient to postpone development of complications. Adherence to complicated therapy is challenge for both patients and HCPs and is subject of research in many disciplines. Improvement in communication between HCP and patients is very important in patient’s adherence to therapy.Aim:Aim of this research was to explore validity and reliability of modified SERVQUAL instrument in attempt to explore ways of motivating diabetic patient to accept prescribed insulin therapy.Material and Methods:We used modified SERVQUAL questionnaire as instrument in the research. It was necessary to check validity and reliability of the new modified instrument.Results:Results show that modified Servqual instrument has excellent reliability (α=0.908), so we could say that it measures precisely Expectations, Perceptions and Motivation at patients. Factor analysis (EFA method) with Varimax rotation extracted 4 factors which together explain 52.902% variance of the results on this subscale. Bifactorial solution could be seen on Scree-plot diagram (break at second factor).Conclusion:Results in this research show that modified Servqual instrument which is created in order to measure expectations and perceptions of the patients is valid and reliable. Reliability and validity are proven indeed in additional dimension which was created originally for this research - motivation to accept insulin therapy.

Measuring patient's satisfaction of healthcare services in the UAE hospitals: Using SERVQUAL

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of healthcare services by investigating the factors affecting patient satisfaction in private and public hospitals in the UAE based on five service quality dimensions of the SERVQUAL namely; tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. A modified SERVQUAL questionnaire was used to gather the research data. The respondents of the study consisted of 127 patients who have been admitted within the last 6 months prior to the onset of the investigation. The results of the study revealed that the perceived healthcare services in private hospitals and public hospitals do not significantly vary. Although patients were more satisfied with nursing care, the perceived satisfaction of patients with the quality of services provided by physicians and nurses as well as the quality of the hospital environment do not significantly vary in both public and private hospitals. The dimension of assurance was rated the highest while responsiveness was perceived as the least important of the five SERVQUAL dimensions. The five dimensions of the SERVQUAL appeared to be a consistent and reliable scale for measuring healthcare service quality in the United Arab Emirates context. The modified SERVQUAL may be used to contribute in enhancing the quality of healthcare services in UAE and in other similar environments.