An Investigation into the Quality of the Healthcare Services to the Patients with Hypertension in Pakdasht, Iran

One of the main functions of the health system is to provide quality services. Customer satisfaction is at the heart of any organization, and is the ultimate goal of any organizational strategy. Patient satisfaction is a concept that has become very important in medical care today, and plays an important role in the health care process. Measuring the quality of services is a basic precondition for improving quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of services, using the analysis of the importance of performance in comprehensive health service centers.

This study was a descriptive survey, and its statistical population included all people with hypertension under the auspices of Pakdasht Comprehensive Health Service Centers (under the auspices of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences), Tehran, Iran. 320 people aged 30 years and older with hypertension were selected using classical systematic two-stage cluster sampling method. To compare the difference between mean performance and importance, t-test with a significance level of 95% was used.

There was a significant difference between importance and performance in all dimensions. (P < 0.050). Dimensions of respect (2.89%), continuation of service (2.68%), access and trust (2.57%), importance and proportions of authority (2.72%), access and trust (2.33%), and safety and prevention (2.19%) had the highest level of performance. The average importance of the requested services to people with hypertension was 70%, and the average performance of the received services was 59%. Overall, the quality of care provided to people with hypertension was low.

It seems that there is a large gap between the expectations of patients with hypertension from services and their perceptions of services received (i.e., performance). All dimensions of quality show that quality improvement in all dimensions is necessary. The results of this study can be useful in health policies to promote the quality of service delivery.