Examining patient perceptions of service quality in Turkish hospitals: The SERVPERF model

Abstract

Patient perceptions of service quality have become a critical component in measuring quality of care and healthcare services. The SERVPERF model of measurement for customer perception was used to measure hospital service quality in Turkey to study patients’ perceived level of quality of services offered and to analyze the predictors of service quality in terms of the dimensions and items of the SERVPERF model. The five dimensions considered were tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, empathy, and assurance. Cross-sectional surveys were completed by 972 inpatients to determine perceived quality. Positive and significant relations were identified among the service quality dimensions. The most significant correlation was between reliability and responsiveness. The logistic regression model used indicated that all dimensions of SERVPERF were a significant predictor for high levels of overall service quality. In this study, service quality and its measures were analyzed in a state hospital located in a development priority area in Turkey. The findings indicate all 5 dimensions of SERVPERF model are significantly related to overall service quality as well as the indicators of high service quality. The findings present several measurement implications of service quality in healthcare. The study is limited to the sample from in-inpatient care departments in a single public hospital in Turkey. However, the results of this study provide significant applications for the government procedures in measuring service quality in hospitals.

Keywords:

• hospital service quality
• service quality measurement
• Turkish hospitals
• perceived service quality
• SERVPERF