Journal List > J Korean Acad Nurs > v.30(5) > 1062699

Lee: A Study on the Differences of Perception between Consumers and Providers about Nursing Service Quality, and the Usefulness of Tools Measuring Nursing Service Quality

Abstract

Service quality is, unlike goods quality, an abstract and elusive term. However, quality is very important to marketers and consumers in that it has many strategic benefits in contributing to profitability of marketing activities and consumers' problem-solving activities. The main purpose of this study is 1) to explore the differences of perception between consumers and providers about nursing service quality, 2) to identify the useful tool between two tools measuring nursing service quality. To achieve these purposes of the study, the questionnaire was developed and distributed to 210 nurses who worked at seven subjected hospitals in Seoul. Also, 280 people who had a direct experience with the subjected hospital nursing services at the time of screening were involved. They were randomly selected at the seven subjected hospitals during August to September of 1998. Among them, 165 responses from nurses and 229 responses from others resulted in worthy finds. The measurement instrument for a nursing services quality evaluation was modified from the SERVQUAL model originated from Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988). The reliability coefficient of the scale was calculated and showed high degree of internal consistency (Cronbachs' Alpha = .9353). For data analysis, SPSS/PC was used for descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and regression analysis. The results were as follows: 1) In the perception about nursing services quality, there were gap between consumers and providers. Especially the critical attributes in point of perception nursing services quality, naming satisfy, hygiene and performance factors, are very different contents. 2) In the comparison analysis of the usefulness tools it was turned out that SEVPERF model is more appropriate than SERVQUAL model. And in the analysis to identify the construct validity of the tool, it is turned out that the relationship between the constructing factors of the tool and the general satisfaction is significant.

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