ASSESSING THE SERVICES QUALITY: EXPECTATIONS AND PERCEPTIONS OF PATIENTS RECEIVING PHYSIOTHERAPY SERVICES AT TEACHING HOSPITALS IN LAHORE, PAKISTAN

• Main Authors: Maimoona Akhlaq Ahmed, Umair Ahmed, Neelofar Rizwan, Sana Tauqeer, Hassan Javed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Khyber Medical University 2020-06-01
• Series: Khyber Medical University Journal
• Subjects: patient satisfaction; servqual; quality of healthcare; quality assurance health care; reliability; tangibles; responsiveness
• Online Access: https://www.kmuj.kmu.edu.pk/article/view/19445

OBJECTIVES: To assess the quality of physiotherapy services and patients’ satisfaction based on Service Quality (SERVQUAL) at teaching hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. METHODS: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2018 to January 2019, on outpatients in teaching hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. Patients aging from 19-60 years attending the outpatients of physical therapy departments of University of Lahore Teaching Hospital, WAPDA Hospital, Mayo Hospital and Pakistan Society of Rehabilitation of the Disabled were included in study. Indoor patients, patients refused to participate and those having compromised cognitive abilities were excluded from study. After taking informed consent, patients were asked to fill in the standardized SERVQUAL questionnaire before and after their physiotherapy session. Statistical analysis was carried out by using SPSS version 21. RESULTS: Out of 71 patients 36 (50.7%) were males and 35 (49.3%) were females. Among 71 patients; 43 (60.6%) patients were satisfied and 28 (39.4%) were dissatisfied, based on their expectations prior to receiving physiotherapy services The satisfaction level of patients based on their experience of current physiotherapy session showed that 65/71 (91.5%) patients were satisfied by the physiotherapy services provided to them whereas 6 (8.4%) were dissatisfied (p<0.001). The results showed that there was an inverse relation between patients’ expectations and perceptions regarding Tangibles (r=-0.248); Reliability (r=-0.448); Responsiveness (r=-0.298); Assurance (r=-0.305) and Empathy (r=-0.356). CONCLUSION: There was an inverse relationship between perceptions and expectations. Patients were found to be more satisfied after experiencing physiotherapy services rather than before.