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Service Quality Dimension in Health Care Service Delivery: The Case for Healthstrat in Kenya

Received: 5 August 2015     Accepted: 13 August 2015     Published: 21 August 2015
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Abstract

The main objective of this study was to investigate service quality dimension in health care service delivery, the case for Healthstrat. In doing so, the study adopted the following objectives: to investigate the factors that determine service delivery at Healthstrat, to investigate the customers’ service expectations at Healthstrat and to determine the impact of service delivery mechanism on service quality. The study was guided by the SERVQUAL model which was made of ten dimensions of service quality when created; tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding the customer, and access, but later on these dimensions were reduced to five because some dimensions were overlapping (communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding customers and access) and they included, Tangibles- physical facilities, equipment, and staff appearance. The study adopted a descriptive research design method. The target population of this study consisted of all the 98 employees working at the hospitals that Healthstrat supports and a sample size of 30 employees was considered. The study used primary data collected through a structured questionnaire. Data was analysis using statistical package for social sciences. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation were generated. The study found out that service quality as perceived by customers is as a result of how well service matches expectations. Secondly that service quality was determined by two dimensions, namely; expectations and experience and each of these dimensions had underlying factors. Thirdly, five factors determined the outcome of service quality which is used by the customers to complete judgement during service delivery, namely; tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The study recommends that participants mentioned the staff to be the focus of improvement based on the fact that it’s the service staff that actually operationalizes service quality standards and more importantly it’s during the service encounter where the customer forms the last judgements on service quality

Published in Science Journal of Business and Management (Volume 3, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjbm.20150305.15
Page(s) 164-174
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Service Quality, Healthstrat, SERVQUAL Model, Service Delivery

References
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[6] Clinton, R.J., Williamson, S. and Bethke, A.L. (2004). Implementing total quality management: The role of human resource management, SAM Advanced Management Journal, 59(2), pp. 10-17.
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[19] Negi, R. (2009). Determining customer satisfaction through perceived service quality: A study of Ethiopian mobile users, International Journal of Mobile Marketing; Vol.4, Number 1; p.31-38.
[20] Nigel, S., Stuart, C., and Robert, J. (2007). Operations Management. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education
[21] Oboth, M. J. (2001). Decentralization and Service Delivery: Constraints and Controversies. Kampala: Makerere University Library.
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[23] Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (2008). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 64, Number 1, p.12-40.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Janet Mukami Mugambi, Zipporah N. Kiruthu. (2015). Service Quality Dimension in Health Care Service Delivery: The Case for Healthstrat in Kenya. Science Journal of Business and Management, 3(5), 164-174. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20150305.15

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    ACS Style

    Janet Mukami Mugambi; Zipporah N. Kiruthu. Service Quality Dimension in Health Care Service Delivery: The Case for Healthstrat in Kenya. Sci. J. Bus. Manag. 2015, 3(5), 164-174. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20150305.15

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    AMA Style

    Janet Mukami Mugambi, Zipporah N. Kiruthu. Service Quality Dimension in Health Care Service Delivery: The Case for Healthstrat in Kenya. Sci J Bus Manag. 2015;3(5):164-174. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20150305.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjbm.20150305.15,
      author = {Janet Mukami Mugambi and Zipporah N. Kiruthu},
      title = {Service Quality Dimension in Health Care Service Delivery: The Case for Healthstrat in Kenya},
      journal = {Science Journal of Business and Management},
      volume = {3},
      number = {5},
      pages = {164-174},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjbm.20150305.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20150305.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjbm.20150305.15},
      abstract = {The main objective of this study was to investigate service quality dimension in health care service delivery, the case for Healthstrat. In doing so, the study adopted the following objectives: to investigate the factors that determine service delivery at Healthstrat, to investigate the customers’ service expectations at Healthstrat and to determine the impact of service delivery mechanism on service quality. The study was guided by the SERVQUAL model which was made of ten dimensions of service quality when created; tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding the customer, and access, but later on these dimensions were reduced to five because some dimensions were overlapping (communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding customers and access) and they included, Tangibles- physical facilities, equipment, and staff appearance. The study adopted a descriptive research design method. The target population of this study consisted of all the 98 employees working at the hospitals that Healthstrat supports and a sample size of 30 employees was considered. The study used primary data collected through a structured questionnaire. Data was analysis using statistical package for social sciences. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation were generated. The study found out that service quality as perceived by customers is as a result of how well service matches expectations. Secondly that service quality was determined by two dimensions, namely; expectations and experience and each of these dimensions had underlying factors. Thirdly, five factors determined the outcome of service quality which is used by the customers to complete judgement during service delivery, namely; tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The study recommends that participants mentioned the staff to be the focus of improvement based on the fact that it’s the service staff that actually operationalizes service quality standards and more importantly it’s during the service encounter where the customer forms the last judgements on service quality},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    AU  - Janet Mukami Mugambi
    AU  - Zipporah N. Kiruthu
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    AB  - The main objective of this study was to investigate service quality dimension in health care service delivery, the case for Healthstrat. In doing so, the study adopted the following objectives: to investigate the factors that determine service delivery at Healthstrat, to investigate the customers’ service expectations at Healthstrat and to determine the impact of service delivery mechanism on service quality. The study was guided by the SERVQUAL model which was made of ten dimensions of service quality when created; tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding the customer, and access, but later on these dimensions were reduced to five because some dimensions were overlapping (communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding customers and access) and they included, Tangibles- physical facilities, equipment, and staff appearance. The study adopted a descriptive research design method. The target population of this study consisted of all the 98 employees working at the hospitals that Healthstrat supports and a sample size of 30 employees was considered. The study used primary data collected through a structured questionnaire. Data was analysis using statistical package for social sciences. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation were generated. The study found out that service quality as perceived by customers is as a result of how well service matches expectations. Secondly that service quality was determined by two dimensions, namely; expectations and experience and each of these dimensions had underlying factors. Thirdly, five factors determined the outcome of service quality which is used by the customers to complete judgement during service delivery, namely; tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The study recommends that participants mentioned the staff to be the focus of improvement based on the fact that it’s the service staff that actually operationalizes service quality standards and more importantly it’s during the service encounter where the customer forms the last judgements on service quality
    VL  - 3
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Author Information
  • School of Business Studies, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

  • School of Business Studies, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

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