Basic Health Units services quality assessment through Kano and SERVQUAL models

Abstract

Purpose

The present research aims to evaluate the quality of services provided by the Basic Health Units (UBS) of the Unified Health System (SUS) located in the city of Recife, in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, using the Kano model integrated with the dimensions of quality proposed by the service quality (SERVQUAL) model.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was classified as bibliographic, descriptive, quantitative and surveyable. A structured questionnaire based on the Kano Model integrated with the dimensions of quality proposed by the SERVQUAL model, applied online through Google Forms. The questionnaires were distributed on social networks, obtaining a non-probabilistic sample of 120 individuals, collected for convenience.

Findings

Through the analysis of the Kano Model, it was possible to observe that all the investigated attributes are classified as one-dimensional. Among the attributes that deserve to be highlighted are attributes “Clean and pleasant environment”, “Reliability and security of information”, “Knowledge of employees to perform services”, “Service performed in the promised time”, “Polite and kind staff in dealing with users” and “Effectiveness of the service provided” due to having the longest intervals when considering the satisfaction and dissatisfaction coefficients, above 1.575. These attributes must be considered as critical priorities when implementing improvements, since their presence considerably increases users' satisfaction, as well as their absence generates great dissatisfaction.

Originality/value

The research is original and justified by the potential use of a quality assessment tool in the public health service, especially primary care. It is noteworthy that there are few works that integrate the Kano and SERVQUAL models applied in the public health service and that this integration can contribute to the national and international literature, mainly in the identification and prioritization of areas for improvement.

Citation

Lacerda, A.B., Souza, A.S.d.S., Da Silva, G.K.L., Azevedo, E.H.M.D. and Melo, F.J.C.D. (2022), "Basic Health Units services quality assessment through Kano and SERVQUAL models", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 29 No. 9, pp. 2858-2880. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-06-2021-0351