Abstract:
The health care industry is undergoing a rapid transformation in service quality which
increases customer satisfaction. It can also improve the health-seeking behaviours and
uptake of services which contributes to a reduction of morbidity and mortality. Some studies
have reported that quality dimensions have a significant impact on patients’ satisfaction. But
there are no conclusive results on which dimensions have a significant and insignificant
effect on patient satisfaction. Therefore this study aimed to assess the effect of Service
Quality on Patient’s Satisfaction in Public Hospitals, particularly at Haramaya University
Hiwot Fana Specialised Teaching Hospital. An institution-based cross-sectional study was
conducted among 420 clients at Haramaya University Hiwot Fana Specialized Teaching
Hospital. Data were collected using pre-tested structured questionnaires containing the
SERVQUAL model. Ordinary least square regression analysis with a 95% confidence
interval was used to test the associations between the dependent and independent variables.
A variable found with a p-value of 0.05 was considered as a statistically significant
variable. In this study, the level of patients’ satisfaction was 55.7 %. The mean and standard
deviation of patient satisfaction was 4.17±0.70.The most important service quality -
dimensions that have an impact on the patient satisfaction were: Assurance (ß=0.37),
empathy (ß=0.34), responsiveness (ß=0.16) and reliability (β=0.14), while tangibility does
not have a significant influence. Therefore, the findings of study implies special focus should
be given on Assurance, empathy, responsiveness and reliability which are vital to quality
dimensions in providing services. Efforts should be made on strengthening factors positively
associated with service quality dimensions, and more work should be done on components of
services quality with the lowest means scores.
