Research Study

1. Research Study

The research study I chose used a customer satisfaction survey implemented by health care regulators to assess the level of total quality management.  The aim was to determine the quality of service provided by the staff of a regulatory agency, to collect information on provider needs and expectations, to identify potential problems that need attention, and to make changes to improve regulatory services.  (Andrzejewski & Lagua, 1997).

Methods

Healthcare providers were surveyed using a customer satisfaction questionnaire developed by a team of providers and research consultants.  The questionnaire contains 20 declarative statements that fit into six quality measures: domains: proficiency, judgment, responsiveness, communication, accommodation, and relevance.  A 10% level of dissatisfaction was used as the minimum acceptable performance standard.  (Andrzejewski & Lagua, 1997).

According to Andrzejewski & Lagua (1997),

A five-point Likert scaling procedure was used, creating a bipolar continuum in which the low end of the scale represents a negative response and the high end, a positive response. The respondent was presented with each statement and asked to indicate the degree of his or her opinion by marking a score of 1 to 5, as follows: “strongly disagree” (1), “disagree” (2), “neutral” or “no opinion” (3), “agree” (4), or “strongly agree” (5). Blank spaces for written comments were provided at the end of each statement.  (para 15).

Results

324 facilities received the customer satisfaction survey, and a total of 183 facilities responded, which is a 56% response rate and is above the 50% that is considered adequate for analysis.  (Andrzejewski & Lagua, 1997).

“The response rate by type of provider ranged from 40% to 75%. Nursing homes had a response rate of 75%, followed by 62% for hospitals, 48% for clinics and health maintenance organizations, and 40% for home care agencies. Fewer contacts between agencies in the latter two groups and regulatory staff may have influenced the low survey returns.” (Andrzejewski & Lagua, 1997, para 18).

Conclusions

In my opinion, the five-point Likert scaling procedure was appropriate for the research study.  This scale allowed respondents to identify the degree of his or her option using a scoring system of 1 to 5.  The blank spaces for the option of leaving written comments allow the respondent to write down any further thoughts or opinions that may not be addressed by the scale.

The questionnaire that contains 20 declarative statements which feed into six quality measures: domains: proficiency, judgment, responsiveness, communication, accommodation, and relevance allow the researcher to measure these key areas of service.  The survey will help identify key areas for improvement that are necessary for adopting TQM.

Reference