“Community and health-care service quality in Kosovo”: “a confirmatory analytical approach”
Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy
ISSN: 1750-6204
Article publication date: 31 December 2021
Issue publication date: 8 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a modified service quality (SERVQUAL) model scale for measuring healthcare service quality in Kosovo.
Design/methodology/approach
An initial dimensions area methodology in construct development, followed by combined exploratory-analytical deductive research with the goal to test theory concepts and validate the measurement tool known from the theory of service quality using new empirical data in a specific context. A cross-sectional survey on a sample of 200 post-encountered patients and using structural equation modelling (SEM) and SEM path analysis to determine satisfaction.
Findings
The findings confirmed that a six-dimensional scale of SERVQUAL is not appropriate for the Kosovo health-care context. The scale development analysis with a new reduced four-dimensional model can be used to measure health service quality in the Kosovan context.
Research limitations/implications
The initial study concept was not piloted. It was developed by the researcher based on secondary data. Systematic random sampling was used, which may have resulted in conclusions that are not applicable to the general population. Finally, this study is applicable to the Kosovo context and cannot be generalized nor represent all patients treated in Kosovo hospitals and clinics. However, the above limitations are less significant compared to the importance of carrying out this type of study for the first time in Kosovo.
Practical implications
This study can help Kosovo health authorities to guide health system-wide improvements and health-care providers to remove quality shortfalls based on a culturally sensitive and validated multiple-item scale for the quality of their service.
Originality/value
This is the first research conducted to identify which of the service quality dimensions require attention by the health-care service providers in Kosovo and develop a validated tool for patient satisfaction measurement that can be used for commercial application.
Keywords
Citation
Hoxha, M.A. (2023), "“Community and health-care service quality in Kosovo”: “a confirmatory analytical approach”", Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 535-561. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEC-11-2021-0151
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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