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BMC Health Services Research
Published in: BMC Health Services Research 1/2020

Open Access 01-12-2020 | Care | Research article

Identification of quality gaps in healthcare services using the SERVQUAL instrument and importance-performance analysis in medical intensive care: a prospective study at a medical center in Taiwan

Authors: Shu-Ju Lu, Hsiu-O Kao, Bao-Lin Chang, Shu-Ing Gong, Shu-Mei Liu, Shih-Chi Ku, Jih-Shuin Jerng

Published in: BMC Health Services Research | Issue 1/2020

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Abstract

Background

Assessing patients’ expectations and perceptions of health service delivery is challenging. To understand the service quality in intensive care units (ICUs), we investigated the expected and perceived service quality of ICU care.

Methods

We conducted this study at an ICU of a university-affiliated medical center in Taiwan from April to September 2019. Admitted patients or their family members responded to a questionnaire survey adopted from the SERVQUAL instrument consisting of 22 items in five dimensions. The questionnaire was provided on ICU admission for expectation and before ICU discharge for perception. We analyzed the quality gaps between the surveys and applied important-performance analysis (IPA).

Results

A total of 117 patients were included (62.4% males, average age: 65.9 years, average length of stay: 10.1 days, and 76.9% survival to ICU discharge). The overall weighted mean scores for the surveys were similar (4.57 ± 0.81 and 4.58 ± 0.52, respectively). The ‘tangibles’ dimension had a higher perception than expectation (3.99 ± 0.55 and 4.31 ± 0.63 for expectation and perception, respectively, p < 0.001). IPA showed that most of the items in ‘reliability,’ ‘responsiveness’ and ‘assurance’ were located in the quadrant of high expectation and high perception, whereas most of the items in ‘tangibles’ and ‘empathy’ were located in the quadrant of low expectation and low perception. One item (item 1 for ‘tangibles’) was found in the quadrant of high expectation and low perception.

Conclusions

The SERVQUAL approach and IPA might provide useful information regarding the feedback by patients and their families for ICU service quality. In most aspects, the performance of the ICU satisfactorily matched the needs perceived by the patients and their families.
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Metadata
Title
Identification of quality gaps in healthcare services using the SERVQUAL instrument and importance-performance analysis in medical intensive care: a prospective study at a medical center in Taiwan
Authors
Shu-Ju Lu
Hsiu-O Kao
Bao-Lin Chang
Shu-Ing Gong
Shu-Mei Liu
Shih-Chi Ku
Jih-Shuin Jerng
Publication date
01-12-2020
Publisher
BioMed Central
Keyword
Care
Published in
BMC Health Services Research / Issue 1/2020
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6963
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05764-8

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