Quality Evaluation of Emergency Department Services of Nemazee Hospital from the Patient's Viewpoint

The main mission of the hospitals in the health system is to provide quality care for patients and fulfilling their needs and expectations. This study was conducted with the aim of quality evaluation of emergency department services from patients’ viewpoint in Shiraz Nemazee hospital.
Material and This was an analytic descriptive study performed as cross sectional in 2014-2015. The population of this study consisted of all the patients admitted to the emergency department of Nemazee hospital. Sample size was determined 582 patients with simple sampling method. Data were collected through SERVQUAL questionnaire. Questionnaire validity was confirmed using experts’ opinion and factor analysis and its reliability was confirmed 87% using Cronbach''s alpha coefficient. The questionnaire measured quality gap in six dimensions including: tangibles¡ reliability¡ assurance¡ empathy¡ responsiveness and access to services. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and applying descriptive statistics tests¡ paired t-test¡ independent t-test and One-way analysis variance.
The results showed that the biggest and smallest gaps in the studied dimensions were as follows: assurance (-0/55±0/86)¡ responsiveness (-0/31±0/98). There was a significant difference between expectations and perceptions in tangibles¡ reliability and access to services dimensions (P>0/05) and there was no significant difference in responsiveness¡ assurance and empathy dimensions (P The quality of services in the emergency department of the hospital was suitable but significant quality gaps in some aspects in the hospital suggest that managers need to pay more attention to quality improvement programs to provide patients more satisfaction.