Service Quality and Patient Satisfaction in Public Hospitals in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study sought to determine how patient satisfaction in Akwa Ibom State public hospitals was impacted by service quality parameters. A survey research design was utilized for this investigation. Data for this study was obtained through a well-structured questionnaire and was administered to 389 in-patients in 9 selected public hospitals within the 3 senatorial districts of Akwa Ibom State. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis was utilized to analyze the data. The findings of the study showed that there was a weak relationship between responsiveness in service delivery, assurance in service delivery, tangibility in service delivery, empathy and patient satisfaction. However, there was a strong relationship between reliability in service delivery and patient satisfaction. It was suggested that additional study be done using other service quality parameters to examine their influence on patient satisfaction in both private and public hospitals in Akwa Ibom State.

Keywords

• service quality
• proxies of service quality
• patient satisfaction