A Model for Evaluation and Validation of Different Dimensions of Accountability in Teaching Hospitals in Iran: 2012

Monitoring and assessing the quality of health services in relation to accountability is the first step in providing proper services in hospitals which as the most important health organizations entail the need for evaluation. The aim of this study was to validate the ethical، legal، financial، operational، political، structural، cultural and information dimensions of accountability (notification rules of hospital) in teaching hospitals. This was a method validation study. A sample of 580 participants، working in teaching hospitals، was selected by quota random sampling using Krejcie - Morgan formula. An 8 item questionnaire with 34 indicators on the basis of Likert scale was distributed among the staff. The data were analyzed by the Lisrel software using confirmatory factor and path analysis and multiple regressions. The findings showed that comparative fit index of different dimensions of the questionnaire، showing the degree of consistency of the model with real data، was equal to 1. This suggests the strength of the one- dimensional model. Cronbach''s alpha for the internal consistency of different dimensions was 0. 791 for financial and 0. 901 for information aspects. The present study provides a systematic process and model to validate and assess different dimensions and components of accountability for managers. The innovations and special features of this study will help present a new model to identify better dimensions and indicators for improving accountability in health care sector.