| dc.description.abstract | The healthcare industry is one of the most important industries in the service field.
Quality is a key factor in healthcare, given its complex nature and the number of stakeholders.
This research examines the key constructs of healthcare quality from the perspective of
stakeholders, as represented in the published research. Based on an extensive literature review,
13 initial constructs relating to healthcare were identified. To ensure content validity, the
construct codes were validated by a panel of experts and then used to perform a computer-aided
textual analysis (CATA) of 320 relevant scholarly publications. Results indicate that quality in
healthcare is dominated by nine constructs: facilities, communication, responsiveness, security,
access, understanding, conformance, competence, and features. These constructs and their codes
contributed to 86% of the total count. The frequency of occurrence of each construct was used to
indicate its relative importance.
Furthermore, the principal component analysis (PCA) revealed the relative contribution
of each dimension to the total variability and indicated four meta-dimensions that can be used to
represent quality in healthcare: medical staff, appropriate facilities, responsive features, and
assurance. These research findings are expected to contribute to the knowledge of quality in
healthcare and help practitioners, administrators, and decision-makers improve effectiveness and
increase patient satisfaction. In addition, the results can be used as a foundation for developing
more appropriate tools for measuring patient satisfaction. | |
