Quality care perceptions in private Syrian hospitals

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to spotlight the level of patient satisfaction with quality of care in a private hospitals setting.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was carried out at three private hospitals in Syria. The study used written survey (interview-type questionnaire) assessing patient's perception of the quality of the services offered by the hospitals. The total of 108 patients participated in the study making the response rate 60.3 percent.

Findings

On the basis of this study, several interesting findings were found. There was a general patient satisfaction with most of the facilities and services provided by the hospitals. Although the focus of the study was not on the medical services, patients were satisfied with the medical treatment. The hotel aspects of the services were found to be evidently poor as indicated by patients.

Research limitations/implications

The perception of management about the services provided was not studied in detail to find out if there was a perceptual gap between the two parties. The findings of this study can only be generalized to other private hospitals in Syria not public hospitals.

Originality/value

This paper satisfies the needs of the managers of private hospitals in Damascus/Syria who lack knowledge about what affects the overall patient satisfaction especially with regard to the hotel aspects of services offered by private hospitals as patients generally want more than just a cure of ill health.

Citation

Alasadi, R. and Al Sabbagh, H. (2013), "Quality care perceptions in private Syrian hospitals", Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 76-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBS-01-2012-0001