Relevance of meeting general outpatients’ information needs to their perceptions of healthcare quality in a hospital in Ghana: a Healthcare Quality Survey using modified SERVQUAL analysis
Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMJ Open Quality
Abstract
Background Patients determine quality of healthcare
by their perception of the gap between the healthcare
they experience/receive and that which they expect. This
can be influenced by the ability of healthcare staff to
adequately communicate information about the healthcare
provided. This study assessed the level of relevance of
meeting patients’ information needs with respect to their
assessment of healthcare quality in a private hospital’s
general outpatient department in Ghana.
Design Study design was cross-sectional using exit
self-administered questionnaires among 390 outpatients.
Healthcare quality was measured using a modified form
of the Service Quality model gap analysis (gap between
experience and expectations). A negative gap signifies
unmet patient expectations. Microsoft Excel and Stata
V.15.0 were used for analysis using t-test and multiple
linear regression. A p value ≤0.05 denotes statistical
significance.
Findings The mean percentage of patients’ expectations
of quality of healthcare was 87.6% (SE 0.031), while
patient experience was 86.0% (SE 0.029), with a
significant negative gap of −0.08 (p<0.002). Their highest
expectation of the quality of healthcare was for their
information needs to be met, with a mean score of 4.44
(SE 0.03). Two of the four items under the information
needs dimension that showed no statistically significant
gaps were ‘saying all their problems’ (gap=0.00; p<0.9)
and ‘explanation of treatment/medications’ (gap=0.01;
p<0.6). Those with statistically significant negative gaps
were ‘explanation of investigations and procedures’
(gap=−0.18; p<0.0001) and ‘explanation of the diagnoses’
(gap=−0.11; p<0.02), signifying unmet expectations.
Conclusions The outpatient’s greatest need for quality
healthcare in this study was for their information needs to
be met. Providing information on patient diagnoses and
investigations are the areas least likely to be adequately
communicated to patients.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
outpatients’ information needs, healthcare quality, hospital, Ghana
Citation
Asare AA, Otchi E, Manu A. Relevance of meeting general outpatients’ information needs to their perceptions of healthcare quality in a hospital in Ghana: a Healthcare Quality Survey using modified SERVQUAL analysis. BMJ Open Quality 2024;13:e002683. doi:10.1136/ bmjoq-2023-002683