Abstract
Background and objectives: The satisfaction of emergency department (ED) patients is considered as an important indicator of hospitals quality. This study aimed to evaluate service quality (SQ) from patients’ perspective in ED.
Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 120 admitted patients in emergency department of Imam Reza hospital of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2011. Service Quality was measured using researcher-developed questionnaire. Questionnaire content validity was reviewed and confirmed by 10 experts and its reliability was confirmed based on Cronbach's alpha index (α = 0. 827). A measure of service quality was derived by combining the relative importance and actual performance of ED staffs. Service Quality was calculated using SQ = 10–(Importance×Performance). Independent Samples Test and Analysis of Variance were conducted to compare SQ score between categorical variables. Data were analyzed using the SPSS-17 statistical package.
Results: From the customers’ point of view, the average service quality score was 8.77 of 10. Furthermore, confidentiality, dignity and availability achieved the highest and of nutritional services, safety, cost and continuity of care got the lowest SQ scores from the patients’ perspective.
Conclusion : Improving quality of delivered care in ED depends on the understanding of the current situation and its weaknesses. It is possible to improve quality of delivered care by implementing effective interventions according to the results of study findings and by considering focus on dimensions which have worst quality.