Evaluating the total quality and its role in measuring consumer satisfaction with e-healthcare services using the 5Qs model: a structure equation modeling approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prachi Verma ◽  
Satinder Kumar ◽  
Sanjeev K. Sharma

PurposeThis article initially aims to explore the factors of every quality construct of the 5Qs model of service quality and, second, identify the significant factors affecting the total quality of e-healthcare services and its association with consumer satisfaction using a multidimensional hierarchical 5Qs model of e-healthcare service quality.Design/methodology/approachQuestionnaire-oriented research was performed at three public hospitals of Punjab and Chandigarh. In total, 53 variables were covered in all quality constructs for data collection from the designated public hospitals. The respondents who agreed to have knowledge regarding e-Healthcare services and were availing these services were included in the study. The analysis comprised structural equation modeling technique using AMOS 21.FindingsThe outcomes suggest that the 5Qs model is more comprehensive and can be used to evaluate service quality perceptions using e-Healthcare services. The research identified 11 sub-dimensions for the five quality constructs of the 5Qs model, representing total quality, which is primary to consumer satisfaction. “Overall objectivity” and “technical objectivity” defined the quality of object. The quality of process of e-Healthcare services was characterized by “functionality,” “timeliness” and “responsiveness.” Quality of infrastructure was defined by “technical infrastructure,” “physical infrastructure,” “manpower skills” and “organizational infrastructure.” “Manner of interaction” and “timely interaction” defined the quality of interaction. The atmosphere was represented by only one factor. The results also suggest that quality of infrastructure, quality of interaction and quality of atmosphere play the most significant role in total quality leading to consumer satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretical implications: The multidimensional hierarchical model will help the researchers study the e-Healthcare service quality in a more organized manner, and the outcomes of this study can be linked with that of future studies for more generalized application in other public hospitals. The sub-dimensions of each quality construct of the 5Qs model can be applied in private hospitals, and the hierarchical model can be tested in different industries to measure service quality perceptions of the consumerPractical implicationsThe outcomes of the study can be applied in various public sector hospitals to redesign the e-Healthcare services based on consumers' perception for better consumer satisfaction and quality services. This paper identifies the role of each quality construct in e-Healthcare services for improvement in the total quality, which in turn will lead to higher satisfaction for the consumers.Originality/valueIn this study, the original 5Qs model has been used for the first time in a new instrument to understand better and design quality e-Healthcare services. The paper explores the sub-factors of each quality construct and its significance in measuring the total quality.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Terje Slåtten ◽  
Gudbrand Lien

Purpose This paper aims to examine the factors related to organizational attractiveness (OA), a concept originating in the strategy of employer branding. Previous research on OA has predominantly adopted the perspective of external applicants. In contrast, the present study takes the perspective of internal and current employees, extending further the scope of studies on OA. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data were collected from a survey consisting of a sample of 164 nurses, all employees of public hospitals. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data. Furthermore, the indirect effects were tested by mediator analysis. Findings Interdepartmental collaboration climate, management support and service quality of care were shown to have a positive effect on OA, with the three factors explaining 45% (R2 = 0.45) of OA. The relationship between management support and OA was found to be mediated through the interdepartmental collaboration climate, and that between the interdepartmental collaboration climate and OA was found to be mediated through the service quality of care. Originality/value This study contributes to an understanding of OA from a current employee perspective. Specifically, it reveals how the three factors of interdepartmental collaboration climate, management support and service quality of care influence and shape the perception of current employees (nurses) toward the attractiveness of their organization.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Berhanu Endeshaw

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to review existing healthcare service quality-measurement models.Design/methodology/approachA review of the literature was conducted utilizing keywords “healthcare’’, “service quality’’, “measurement models”, “SERVQUAL”, “SERVPERF”, “HEALTHQUAL”, “PubHosQual” and “HospitalQual”. These investigations were selected from the “Emerald’’, “ABI/Inform”, “ScienceDirect” and “EBSCOhost” databases. A range of studies used in the makeup of the healthcare quality-measurement model for a 36 years period (1979 to 2015) were examined in an exhaustive survey of the literature. Of 137 studies reviewed, 74 studies were selected for analysis.FindingsAs yet, no consensus has been reached among scholars on the definition and indicators and factors of the quality of the healthcare services. Moreover, most of the current models are of Western origin and incongruent with the cultural and economic contexts of developing countries. The previous studies create scales resembling the generic measures of service quality, which may not be completely appropriate for assessing the perceived quality of healthcare services. Furthermore, previous studies were too narrow, overemphasizing the quality of healthcare only as far as the functional aspect of the services were concerned and paying too little attention to the technical aspects, using the experience of healthcare providers. These results have much room for failures. This is therefore advising healthcare organizations that need to develop their own models for measuring the quality of their services.Originality/valueGeneric models no longer suffice in measuring the quality of healthcare services. Developing countries should try and develop their own models for measuring the quality of healthcare services.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 1195-1214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taqdees Fatima ◽  
Shahab Alam Malik ◽  
Asma Shabbir

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain the patients’ views towards private healthcare service providers. The study focussed on hospital service quality and analysed the relative significance of quality measurements in anticipating the patients’ satisfaction and loyalty. The mediating role of patient satisfaction is assessed between quality of hospital healthcare services and patient loyalty. Design/methodology/approach A total 611 patients (both indoor and outdoor) participated in a questionnaire survey from the six private hospitals of capital city, Islamabad, Pakistan. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics, common method variance, reliability, correlation and regression in order to investigate customer perceived service quality and how the quality of services stimulates loyalty intentions towards private service suppliers. Findings Findings depict that private healthcare service providers are attempting to deliver well improved healthcare services to their customers. Results confirmed that better quality of healthcare services inclines to build satisfaction and loyalty among patients. The healthcare service quality aspects (i.e. physical environment, customer-friendly environment, responsiveness, communication, privacy and safety) are positively related with patient loyalty which is mediated through patient satisfaction. Practical implications Findings will help the hospital managers to articulate effective strategies in order to ensure superior quality of healthcare services to patients. The study will induce hospital management to deliver attentions towards the quality of private healthcare service systems and improvements towards the deficient healthcare services. Furthermore, the study will present a clear picture of patient’s behavioural attitudes; satisfaction and loyalty intentions towards the quality of healthcare services. Originality/value The study provides the views and perceptions of patients towards the quality of healthcare services. The healthcare service quality dimensions, i.e., physical environment, customer-friendly environment, responsiveness, communication, and privacy and safety were assessed. Hospital healthcare service quality was examined in order to find out its effect on patient satisfaction and patient loyalty.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3.30) ◽  
pp. 393
Author(s):  
Marcellia Susan ◽  
. .

Research on service quality has been performed by researchers on various research objects. In many previous studies, service quality provided by service providers became the factor that affects customer satisfaction and other various research variables. The study was conducted at public hospitals that offer healthcare services with a focus on service quality. The purpose of this study was to analyze the service quality provided by public hospitals, and to test their effect on the satisfaction and trust of patients or attendants. The objects of this research are the public hospitals in Bandung with the patients or attendants as the unit of analysis. Primary data were obtained through the dissemination of questionnaires on patients or attendants to obtain data on their evaluation of service quality of public hospitals, and their satisfaction and trust towards public hospitals. Obtained data was processed using structural equation modeling to confirm causality of related research variable. The results depict the service quality provided by public hospitals in Bandung covering infrastructure, personnel quality, clinical care process, administrative procedures, safety indicators, and social responsibility. Moreover, the results of hypothesis testing show that service quality has an influence on patient satisfaction, and ultimately affects their trust in the hospital.  


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 600-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debajani Sahoo ◽  
Tathagata Ghosh

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the motives that enforce consumers to find out the major determinants that frame healthscape in private healthcare service that leads to their satisfaction in a developing country like India. Design/methodology/approach – The generic motive dimensions are identified using an exploratory factor analysis. Next the reliability and validity of the factors are established followed by regression analysis using SPSS 20.0 s/w. Findings – This paper identifies six healthscape motives in the private healthcare sector named as service personnel conduct and cleanliness, service delivery and facilities, ambience, location and look, appealing decoration, and upgraded safety service, out of which only service delivery, ambience, location, and decorations contribute the most to build customer satisfaction as per their significance value. Research limitations/implications – The various dimensions of healthcare motives should be viewed as the levers of improving hospitals’ service quality in the minds of its present and future customers. This finding can offer valuable insight to the forthcoming as well as existing developer who are planning to have their healthcare service presence in India. Practical implications – This study suggests some important strategic guidelines for service positioning and market segmentation of healthcare services as per customer requirements. In the recent past, availing services from hospitals were purely utilitarian in nature. Customers were more inclined to get proper and timely services and cared more about the service quality of the healthcare service provider. Originality/value – This paper is among the few works done on understanding private healthcare service delivery process in India and customer satisfaction level from those Hospitals. This study addresses the gap by identifying a set of dimensions that are relevant to customers for a unique healthcare experience.


2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Bassam Mahmoud ◽  
Bayan Khalifa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to confirm the factorial structure of SERVPERF based on an exploration of its dimensionality among Syrian universities’ students. It also aimed at assessing the perceived service quality offered at these universities. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional survey was conducted targeting students at Syrian universities. Using a pilot sample of 40 students, the authors developed their hypotheses. Thereafter, based on a sample of 259 students, the hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and one-sample t-test. Findings – The findings revealed that SERVPERF in the Syrian universities’ context was a three-factor instrument consisting of the three dimensions: faculty-individualized attention, support staff helpfulness, and support staff empathy. Moreover, the findings showed that students at Syrian universities hold negative perceptions toward all of the three service quality dimensions provided by their universities. Practical implications – Given the imperative need for universities to monitor and improve the quality of their services, this study can help Syrian universities’ administrations understand the perceptions of their students toward services offered, which can help them formulate effective marketing strategies. Originality/value – This paper came to be one of the first studies that attempted to assess the perceived quality of services offered through the Syrian higher education system. Additionally, this study pioneered through drawing a factorial picture for SERVPERF at the Syrian Arab context.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 298-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somayeh Alizadeh ◽  
Meena Chavan ◽  
Hamin Hamin

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the key aspects of service quality within the outpatient context. The secondary aim is to compare views on quality of health service by Caucasian and non-Caucasian patients in Australia. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-method approach was adopted for this study. Qualitative data were collected from 40 patients to develop a scale for measuring health service quality. Quantitative data were collected using self-administered questionnaires available in English, Arabic, Persian, Chinese and Vietnamese. A total of 447 patients in six outpatient clinics completed the survey and data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique. Findings – The qualitative findings determined eight dimensions of quality for outpatient care as follows: doctor professionalism; doctor empathy; doctor expertise; treatment outcome; staff concern; timeliness; tangibles; and operation. The quantitative findings indicated that factors related to technical aspect of care, including doctor expertise and treatment outcome were assumed the strongest predictors of overall health care quality in both Caucasian and non-Caucasian groups. Furthermore, no significant discrepancy was found between these two groups’ ratings of overall service quality and satisfaction with care. Originality/value – The study captured ethnically diverse patients’ perspectives on health service quality and highlighted the significance of technical quality, which is generally neglected in service quality measures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mert Sanıl ◽  
Fehiman Eminer

Abstract Background Improving healthcare quality has become an essential objective for all health institutions worldwide to address the need to improve services, manage costs and satisfy patient expectations about the quality of care. As health is one of the leading service sectors of the North Cyprus economy, analysing patients’ perceived value of healthcare service quality is crucial. In this research, a comparative analysis of existing models revealed affordability, acceptability and accessibility as the leading modern service quality indicators affecting patients’ perceived value of healthcare service quality. The quality of services is a leading factor impacting business competition and retention dictated by the current market. This study aimed to investigate the factors that influence patient perceptions of healthcare service quality in North Cyprus. Methods A self-administered questionnaire was carried out among 388 patients of public and private hospitals in North Cyprus, and the data were analysed using partial least squares-structural equation modelling. Results Empirical results highlight that the acceptability of healthcare services is a prerequisite for perceiving a high value of service quality. The affordability and accessibility of services, respectively, were less effective. Results concerning mediating effects confirm that acceptability could fully mediate the relationship between affordability and perceived value and could partially mediate the impact of accessibility on the perceived quality of healthcare services. Conclusion This study contributes to healthcare theory and practice by developing a conceptual framework to provide policymakers and managers with a practical understanding of factors that affect healthcare service quality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Robinsar Jogi Yoshua Manullang ◽  
Siti Jahroh ◽  
Kirbrandoko

Ecotourism is a nature tourism that focuses on a protected area or area that contributes to the welfare of the local community and conservation and education for the community. Meanwhile, as much as 98.9 percent of the forest area under its management rights is still controlled by corporations and capital owners. While the rest which is no more than 1.1 percent of the area of ​​forest management rights is controlled by the community. Enhancing the role of forest areas, especially conservation forests, needs to be done to improve the quality of life of communities around the buffer zones. The purpose of this study is to identify service quality factors that influence customer satisfaction and interest in ecotourism visits in Saporkren, and formulate ecotourism marketing strategies in Saporkren. This is done to increase the number of ecotourism visitors in Saporkren, which of course will provide increased income for the community and improve the quality of life of the Saporkren people. The population in this study were visitors from the Saporkren ecotourism. The sampling technique uses accidental sampling and purposive sampling. The selected respondents were tourists who were visiting Saporkren and were found by researchers and tourists who had visited Saporkren at least once in the past one year. Endogenous variables (Y) and (Z) in this study are consumer satisfaction and interest in return visits. Exogenous variables (X) in this study are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The data processing technique used in this study is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with LISREL 8.7 software. Based on the results of the study, only three out of five service quality factors were identified that affected customer satisfaction, namely tangible, reliability, and assurance. And in this study, consumer satisfaction is proven to affect the interest in a repeat visit. After that, from the interviews and Focus Group Discussion (FGD), a strategy that could be implemented in ecotourism in Saporkren was formulated to explore potential tourism that could be exploited in addition to birdwatching for tangibles, and to train and certify tour guides in Saporkren for reliability and assurance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 413-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prachi Verma ◽  
Satinder Kumar ◽  
Sanjeev K. Sharma

PurposeUse of technology for quality healthcare services has developed into a new field known as “e-Healthcare services.” Healthcare providers often judge their quality of services with consumer satisfaction. With e-Healthcare services, consumer satisfaction is influenced by the quality of healthcare services provided and the demographic characteristics. The purpose of the present case study is to recognize the important predictors of quality, which are significant for consumer satisfaction with e-Healthcare services by using Zineldin's 5Qs model. It also aims to find the strength of association among the predictors of consumer satisfaction and the demographic characteristics of the respondents.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire-based study was conducted at a public (PGIMER, Chandigarh) and a private hospital (Fortis Hospital, Mohali) of Punjab, India, from February 2018 to March 2019. The structured, closed-ended questionnaire, to be marked on a 1–5 point Likert scale, was adapted from Zineldin's 5Qs model and was distributed to the respondents sitting in the waiting halls of the selected hospitals. The respondents comprised of both the patients and their attendants who were aware of e-Healthcare services and were using them.FindingsThe analysis identified quality of interaction, quality of hospital atmosphere and quality of object to be the key predictors of consumer satisfaction with e-Healthcare services. The results reveal a strong association between different demographic characteristics and overall consumer satisfaction with e-Healthcare services.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that improvements in the quality of interaction, quality of hospital atmosphere and quality of object may result in higher consumer satisfaction with e-Healthcare services. Working on the identified dimensions of quality will help the e-Healthcare providers in identifying functional problems of e-Healthcare services and developing improvement strategies, which will also result in better health and quality outcomes. The results of this study will help the e-Healthcare providers in better segmentation of e-Healthcare consumers based on their demographic characteristics and in developing better marketing strategies.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on the quality of e-Healthcare services only and attempts to identify the quality dimensions, which leads to the satisfaction of e-Healthcare consumers. The identified quality dimensions will help in designing better e-Healthcare services and framing policies. It also highlights the association of demographic characteristics with important quality dimensions.


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