The Effects of Implementing an Accreditation Process on Health Care Quality Using Structural Equation Modeling

This study was undertaken to investigate nurses' perceptions of and attitudes toward the effects of hospital accreditation on their service quality in an eye hospital in Tehran in 2016. This was a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytic study conducted in the second half of 2016. Data of 200 nurses who were selected using a census method were studied. For collecting the required data, a standard questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 through descriptive statistics, as well as AMOS 18.0 software through the measurement and structural models of structural equation modeling method. The results showed that the independent variables of nurses' participation and the benefits of accreditation had predicted 63% of the variations in the dependent variable of "quality." Also, the results of structural equation modeling showed that the benefits of accreditation (regression weight = 0.22) had a significant effect on quality outcomes (P = .02). Moreover, the participation of nurses (regression weight = 0.61) had an important effect on quality outcomes (P < .001). Finally, the benefits of accreditation had a significant association with the nurses' participation (regression weight = 0.50) (P < .001). According to the results of the present study, the hospital accreditation program had positive effects on the quality of care from the studied nurses' perspective.