QUALITY OF FAMILY HEALTH SERVICES IN SELECTED CITIES OF WEST AZERBAIJAN PROVINCE HEALTH POSTS FROM REALITY TO EXPECTATIONS OF SERVICE CONSUMERS

Primary Healthcare including family health, as one of the first contact services
has basic role in health attainment. Quality of care remains one of the most significant challenges
facing the health systems. In quality management, service users have critical roles in identifying their
own needs and preferences. The objective of this study was assessing the consumers' perceptions and
expectations of family health Services at selected cities in West Azerbaijan province heath posts.
Materials & Methods: A sample of 390 regular female health care consumers participated in this cross
sectional descriptive study which was done in 2011. A questionnaire based on the SERVQUAL
instrument was used for data collection. For statistical analysis, descriptive statistics and X2, Friedman
and Wilcoxon tests were applied.
Results: The findings of this study indicated that of 390 individuals receiving services, 51% in Urmia,
28% in Khoy, and 21% were living in Bukan. The findings showed that expectations of 91.1%
respondents were not met. Comparison of Quintet dimensions showed the smallest gap was in Impathy
dimension and the largest in responsiveness respectively. City of residence had significant correlation
with quality gap (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Current status of the family health Services expectations were far from consumers
expectations and thus quality improvement initiatives were required in all dimensions specially in
responsiveness.