THE IMPACT OF ACCREDITATION ON THE QUALITY OF HOSPITAL SERVICES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF NURSES IN TEHRAN

In the last two decades, accreditation has been used by health systems as an important tool to improve the quality, safety, and effectiveness of healthcare services. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of the accreditation program on the quality of hospital services from the perspective of nurses in Tehran, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was descriptive-analytical and it was conducted in 2018 among 365 nurses from 9 educational hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using a 54-item questionnaire that included nine dimensions of quality results, leadership, commitment and support, strategic quality planning, quality management, staff training, reward, use of data, staff involvement, and benefits of accreditation. Statistical analysis was performed in two sections: descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and analytical statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient test, multiple linear regression).

Among the dimensions of accreditation, the highest mean score and the lowest mean score were related to the "staff involvement in accreditation" dimension and "staff training" dimension, respectively. The results of analytical statistics showed that accreditation had a positive impact on the quality of hospital services. Also, three dimensions of leadership, commitment and support, reward and staff involvement in accreditation were significant predictors of the quality of these services (p<0/05).

The results of the present study showed that the implementation of accreditation program is a useful tool to improve the quality of hospital services. Management support is necessary in order to implement this program more effectively and it is vital to create an appropriate reward system to provide sufficient incentive for staff to participate in program implementation. Finally, the necessary training about the accreditation program should be provided to staff.