Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.24141/1/5/1/4
Investigating the Difference between the Perception and Expectations of Health Service Users using the SERVQUAL Model
Suzana Marković
; Fakultet za menadžment u turizmu i ugostiteljstvu, Opatija, Hrvatska
Irena Regent Turkalj
; Fakultet za menadžment u turizmu i ugostiteljstvu, Opatija, Hrvatska
Aleksandar Racz
orcid.org/0000-0002-3118-2623
; Zdravstveno veleučilište, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
Introduction: The quality of health care services is increasingly becoming the subject of different studies. A special place in such studies is taken by the measurement of the quality of health services, and by defining their perception from the users’ perspective.
Objective and methods: By applying an adjusted SERVQUAL model, the expectations and perceptions of 178 health service users in Thalassotherapy Opatija were investigated.
Results: Suitability of the SERVQUAL model for measuring the quality of health services has been verified. It has been found out that there is a significant gap between perception and expectation of service users. The highest gap was recorded when evaluating tangibility,
i.e. physical elements of service delivery, while the lowest level was recorded when evaluating understanding (-0.11), security (-0.13) and responsibility (-0.17), which still means that the users have nevertheless received the expected service. They were satisfied with the total number of services received (6.65) and their stay as well, and it was also found out that they have confidence in the institution. On the other hand the health care services exceeded the expectations (6.28). The users tend to recommend the institution to others (6.65) and to use its services by themselves again (6.74). The results showed that female users have higher expectations than males, and that they have a better perception of the quality of provided services. The older users have better perception of provided services than the younger ones. When compared to the others, the users with
a higher level of education show in terms of statistics higher expectations - they expect the staff to take some time to answer their questions, to understand their specific needs, and they also expect accuracy in service delivery. When it comes to perceived quality of service, there is no statistically significant difference with regard
to the type of medical service used, so a conclusion can be made that the quality evaluation of the services provided by Thalassotherapy Opatija is similar, regardless the type of services used.
Conclusion: It has been confirmed that the concept of the quality of health services is multidimensional and that the application of the SERVQUAL model makes possible to identify the users’ expectations, needs and wants efficiently, as well as their attitudes towards the services obtained and then consequently to use them in order to create a quality offer.
Ključne riječi
quality of services; quality of health services; SERVQUAL; statistical analysis; Thalassotherapy Opatija
Hrčak ID:
217992
URI
Datum izdavanja:
18.3.2019.
Posjeta: 1.935 *