{"title":"International Assessment of Service Quality in Healthcare Organisations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis","authors":"Yusuf Çelik, Ferdane Betül Bölükbaşı, Feyza Şenay Ulaş, Tuna Aybike Göktaş","doi":"10.1002/hpm.70084","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Background and Objectives</h3>\n \n <p>The performance of healthcare organisations with their considerably complex structures is often on the agenda due to limited resources. Service quality, commonly assessed using the SERVQUAL scale, represents a key performance dimension in healthcare delivery. This paper aims to investigate the extent of meeting the expectations in health service provision in Turkiye and countries in Asia.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Methods</h3>\n \n <p>We searched electronic databases, namely Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Turkish Council of Higher Education National Thesis Centre, to find relevant and accessible English and Turkish studies published until 1 January 2023. Eligible studies were empirical research conducted in healthcare settings using the SERVQUAL scale and reporting expectation–perception gaps. Mean differences with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Heterogeneity was assessed using the <i>I</i><sup>2</sup> and <i>τ</i><sup>2</sup> statistics, and publication bias was evaluated using funnel plots and Egger's test.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Results</h3>\n \n <p>A total of 47 studies (<i>N</i> = 13,581) were included. The highest quality gap occurred in the responsiveness (0.59) and reliability (0.54) dimensions. Patients had high levels of expectations from healthcare organisations in all five subdomains examined for both Turkiye and other Asian countries.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Conclusion</h3>\n \n <p>Highly significant quality gaps in the examined domains emphasise the need for improvements in appropriate and quality service delivery and the implementation of compassionate patient-centred approaches. We have concluded that healthcare managers and decision-makers should regularly monitor the quality level of provided healthcare services, find the gaps that need to be improved, and better understand how client expectations in healthcare might be shaped in different settings and countries. Limitations include the restriction to English and Turkish languages, the cross-sectional design of studies, and variability in hospital settings. No protocol was registered.</p>\n </section>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"41 4","pages":"703-722"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2026-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hpm.70084","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/5/11 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background and Objectives
The performance of healthcare organisations with their considerably complex structures is often on the agenda due to limited resources. Service quality, commonly assessed using the SERVQUAL scale, represents a key performance dimension in healthcare delivery. This paper aims to investigate the extent of meeting the expectations in health service provision in Turkiye and countries in Asia.
Methods
We searched electronic databases, namely Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Turkish Council of Higher Education National Thesis Centre, to find relevant and accessible English and Turkish studies published until 1 January 2023. Eligible studies were empirical research conducted in healthcare settings using the SERVQUAL scale and reporting expectation–perception gaps. Mean differences with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 and τ2 statistics, and publication bias was evaluated using funnel plots and Egger's test.
Results
A total of 47 studies (N = 13,581) were included. The highest quality gap occurred in the responsiveness (0.59) and reliability (0.54) dimensions. Patients had high levels of expectations from healthcare organisations in all five subdomains examined for both Turkiye and other Asian countries.
Conclusion
Highly significant quality gaps in the examined domains emphasise the need for improvements in appropriate and quality service delivery and the implementation of compassionate patient-centred approaches. We have concluded that healthcare managers and decision-makers should regularly monitor the quality level of provided healthcare services, find the gaps that need to be improved, and better understand how client expectations in healthcare might be shaped in different settings and countries. Limitations include the restriction to English and Turkish languages, the cross-sectional design of studies, and variability in hospital settings. No protocol was registered.
背景和目标:由于资源有限,结构相当复杂的医疗保健组织的绩效经常被提上议程。服务质量通常使用SERVQUAL量表进行评估,它代表了医疗保健服务的一个关键绩效维度。本文旨在调查在卫生服务提供满足期望的程度在土耳其和亚洲国家。方法:我们检索了电子数据库,即Web of Science、谷歌Scholar、PubMed和土耳其高等教育委员会国家论文中心,以找到相关的、可访问的、发表于2023年1月1日的英语和土耳其语研究。符合条件的研究是在医疗保健环境中使用SERVQUAL量表进行的实证研究,并报告期望-感知差距。计算95%置信区间的平均差值。采用I2和τ2统计量评估异质性,采用漏斗图和Egger检验评估发表偏倚。结果:共纳入47项研究(N = 13,581)。最大的质量差距出现在响应性(0.59)和可靠性(0.54)维度。在土耳其和其他亚洲国家检查的所有五个子领域中,患者对医疗机构的期望都很高。结论:在检查的领域中,高度显著的质量差距强调需要改进适当和高质量的服务提供,并实施富有同情心的以患者为中心的方法。我们的结论是,医疗保健管理人员和决策者应定期监测所提供的医疗保健服务的质量水平,发现需要改进的差距,并更好地了解在不同的环境和国家,客户对医疗保健的期望可能会如何形成。局限性包括对英语和土耳其语的限制、研究的横断面设计以及医院环境的可变性。未注册任何协议。
期刊介绍:
Policy making and implementation, planning and management are widely recognized as central to effective health systems and services and to better health. Globalization, and the economic circumstances facing groups of countries worldwide, meanwhile present a great challenge for health planning and management. The aim of this quarterly journal is to offer a forum for publications which direct attention to major issues in health policy, planning and management. The intention is to maintain a balance between theory and practice, from a variety of disciplines, fields and perspectives. The Journal is explicitly international and multidisciplinary in scope and appeal: articles about policy, planning and management in countries at various stages of political, social, cultural and economic development are welcomed, as are those directed at the different levels (national, regional, local) of the health sector. Manuscripts are invited from a spectrum of different disciplines e.g., (the social sciences, management and medicine) as long as they advance our knowledge and understanding of the health sector. The Journal is therefore global, and eclectic.