Assessing obstetric patient experience: a SERVQUAL questionnaire.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Patient experience research
• Obstetric service evaluation

Background:

• Patient feedback is crucial for health service improvement.
• The SERVQUAL method quantifies patient expectations versus perceptions.
• Limited research exists on SERVQUAL in obstetric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt and apply the SERVQUAL method to an obstetric setting.
• To evaluate a reconfigured antenatal clinic service using patient feedback.
• To identify specific areas for improvement in obstetric care.

Main Methods:

• An adapted SERVQUAL questionnaire was developed based on patient-identified care aspects.
• The questionnaire was administered in two parts to eligible women.
• Analysis included only fully completed questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Strengths identified: staff politeness, patient respect, and privacy.
• Areas for improvement: hand cleanliness, patient involvement in decisions, and risk communication.
• The reconfigured service received low negative overall scores, but low response variability limited definitive conclusions.

Conclusions:

• The SERVQUAL-based measure facilitated internal evaluation of patient experience in antenatal services.
• It highlighted key areas important to obstetric patients.
• Further validation is needed for use as an outcome measure; local responsiveness vs. external comparability is a key consideration.