ABSTRACT
Customer care within the context of healthcare delivery is
very broad. The healthcare institution has two forms of customers: The
suppliers of goods to the Hospital and the patients and their relatives who
seek for healthcare. The World Health Organization focuses on the Patient as
the Customer .The World Health Organization (WHO) in 1995 defined Customer care
as the process by which a healthcare organization delivers its services or
products in a way that allows the customer (patients) to access them in the
most efficient, fair, cost effective, and humanly satisfying and pleasurable
manner possible. This makes the patient the most important partner in
healthcare system. However, this patient - hospital relationship in Ghana is
tilted in favour of the healthcare staffs who regard him or herself as more
important than the client. The question is does this tilted relationship
provides good customer care? The general objective of the study is to
investigate customer care practices in public health institutions in Ghana - a
case of selected government hospitals in Kumasi Metropolis. The researcher
adopted simple random sampling techniques in collecting data from respondents.
The respondents consisted of patients and staff in selected public health
institutions in Kumasi Metropolis. Data was collected through direct
visitation, observation, interviews and questionnaires. A total of 320 people
were interviewed in 16 public health hospitals and data collected constituted
the primary data. It was shown that most patients were not satisfied with the
long waiting times in these hospitals. Patients were however satisfied with the
quality of care. It is recommended that more doctors should be trained and
retained in these institutions to reduce the long waiting times in the
hospitals.
CHAPTER
ONE
GENERAL
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
This segment introduces the research topic under study – An
investigation into customer care practices in Public Health institution in
Kumasi metropolis. It describes and presents experts and scholarly opinions on
the subject under study. Here, problem statement and the main objectives and
the significance of the research work are elaborated.
1.2 Background to
the Study
One of the most interesting aspects in healthcare management
is how to manage the relationship between a healthcare provider and its
customers (patients) in order to create a greater mutual understanding, trust,
and patient involvement in decision making. Offei (2004), were of the view that
a good relationship between a healthcare provider and its customers will lead
to improved customers’ satisfaction, which in turn make them loyal customers.
A good relationship between a healthcare provider and its
customers do not only foster effective communications between them but also
helps in improving customer’s care practices and satisfaction, which may help
to improve their health and health-related quality life and more effective in
disease management (Nelson et al, 2006). On the other hand, failure in
improving customer care will create dissatisfaction of customers, which may
lead to distrust towards the system.
In addition,
bad or unmanaged customer care practices with patients will make them feel
alienated during treatment; in summary, the business sustainability of the
healthcare provider will be threatened by sour relationship with its customers
(MacStravic, 1997). Therefore, improved customer care practices which lead to a
good relationship between a healthcare provider and its customers are crucial
and the relationship must be managed effectively to sustain the business.
In the healthcare environment, healthcare providers are
challenged not only to retain existing customers but also to acquire potential
customers for the healthcare services, retaining them to use the services, and
extending various services in the future (Nguyen and LeBlanc, 2004). With the
growing competition among healthcare providers, managing the customer care
practices and providing better services through customer care management is a
strategy that needs to be carefully planned.
Unfortunately, many see customer care practices as merely a
management issue for improving patients’ satisfaction which may lead to a
failure in its implementation. Customer care management initiatives must be
seen as a strategy for significant improvement in services by solidifying
satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy through customer care practices (Lee, Lee
and Yoo, 2000). As such, matters pertaining to people such as customer
behaviour, culture transformation, personal agendas, and new interactions
between individuals and group must be incorporated in customer care practices
initiatives. Therefore, an organization needs to understand that behaviour and
expectations of customers will continue to change overtime. Consequently
customer care practices must address the dynamic nature of customers’ needs and
adjustment strategies embedded in customer care management system are required.
Increasingly, health care
stakeholders such as governments, health authorities and consumers are
attaching importance to health care quality (Jones and Suh, 2000). More and
more, patients’ satisfaction is recognized as essential component in the
evaluation of health care quality (Jones and Suh, 2000). The quality of health
care is not confined to resource use or economic efficiency, but also clinical
effectiveness through effective customer care practices as an important quality
objective (Jain and Gupta, 2004).
Monitoring and evaluating customer care practices and
satisfaction with health care is a crucial input to improving the quality of
health system and changes in the system as well as providing feedback for
health care professionals and policy makers (David, 2001). Measures on customer
care practices with health care can provide important assessment of quality of
health care not adequately captured by other health service statistics such as
patient throughput, waiting times, consultation times and proximity (Folkes and
Patrick, 2003). In fact, it has been suggested that customer care practices is
a major quality input in itself (Fornell and Claes, 2006). The extent to which
health care users are satisfied with their local providers may be a key factor
underpinning their health behaviour and health care utilization (Gardial et al,
2007). It is envisaged that timely, accessible, appropriate health
interventions, continuous and effective customer care practices are important
components of health care quality (Folkes and Patrick, 2003). Jain and Gupta
(2004) observed that it has imperatively become clear that effective customer
care practices therefore play an important role in providing effective
healthcare delivery. Most of the researches in health management are concerned
with optimizing the healthcare delivery in terms of its efficiency and
competence in the effective customer care practices, but only limited studies
are done considering the role effective customer care practices play in
healthcare delivery of public healthcare institutions in Ghana.
Effective
customer care practices in the health management can play a vital role in
meeting patients’ needs with the view of improving the general welfare of
citizens, thus emphasizing the need of a general model for effective customer
care practices within health management in health care institutions.
Therefore, the primary aim of this research is to
investigate into customer care practices in public hospitals using selected
Government Hospitals in Kumasi metropolis.
Public health sector is chosen as a case study for this
research work mainly because of the numerous reports of staff and
administrators’ ineptitude and gross negligence despite various policies and
programmes put in place to ensure effective customer care practices operation
in health delivery in Ghana (Ghana Health Services Report, 2013).
1.3 Problem
Statement
To improve staff performance with the aim of ensuring
continuous labour productivity, every organization needs to put in place
pragmatic customer care practices that will aid in the achievement of public
health care objectives of improving healthcare delivery for all. Effective
customer care practices are not only considered to have a positive influence on
strategy to retain existing customers and attract new ones, but rather as an
important process of promoting health care outcomes (Churchill and Surprenant,
2007).
Investigating into customer care practices in health care is
a crucial input to improving the quality of health system and changes in the
system as well as providing feedback for health care professionals and policy
makers (Folkes and Patrick, 2003).
As indicated earlier, measures
of customer care practices in health care can provide important assessment of
quality of health care not adequately captured by other health service
statistics such as patient throughput, waiting times, consultation times and
proximity (Folkes and Patrick, 2003).
However, investigating into this customer care practices of
health organisations, especially in the public health sector has generated
debates in recent time (Gardial, Sarah, Robert, Woodruff, Schumann and Mary,
2007).
Some researchers have suggested that many public health
institutions practice customer care practices on ad hoc basis resulting in
inefficient health delivery system in Ghana (David, 2001). As one researcher
puts it, there are inappropriate customer care practices in most Ghanaian
public hospitals jeopardizing healthcare delivery in Ghana.
They argued that the importance of customer care practices
fails to provide appropriate goals, health care outcome, or health care
delivery system (MacStravic, 1997). Distorted health care management system, can
jeopardize healthcare delivery and may constitute bad welfare for its citizens
(Jain and Gupta, 2004).
Despite the fact that investigating into customer care
practices has become an important tool for overall healthcare delivery, little
research have been done investigating customer care practices in Ghanaian
public health system. This research work found it necessary to investigate into
customer care practices in Ghanaian public health system in Ghana - a case of
selected government hospital Kumasi Metropolis.
The general
objective of the study is to investigate customer care practices in public
health institution in Ghana - a case of selected government hospitals in the
Kumasi Metropolis.
The specific objectives
of this study include:
i.
To identify the dimensions of
customer care practices in public health institution in Ghana.
ii.
To analyse the satisfaction of
patients on customer care practices in public health institution in Ghana.
iii.
To evaluate the challenges
associated with the promotion of customer care practices in public health
institution in Ghana.
1.5 Research
Questions
i.
What are the dimensions of customer
care practices in public health institution in Ghana?
ii.
What is the level of patients’ satisfaction
on customer care practices in public health institution in Ghana?
iii.
What are the challenges associated
with the promotion of customer care practices in public health institution in
Ghana?
According to Maxwell (2004), effective customer care
practices are not confined to clinical effectiveness but also incorporate
social acceptability as a welfare benefits policy objective.
The rationale of this study is to investigate into customer
care practices in Ghanaian public health institution in Ghana. This will help
academicians and professional alike to appreciate and understand effectiveness
and deficiencies inherent in in customer care practices in health institutions
and determine various measures that can be implemented to improve the system.
This research aims to document and provide up-to-date
evidence-based recommendations to policy makers not only to identify the
dimensions of customer care practices in public health institution, but how policy
makers can influence and redirect effort in ensuring that these health
institutions leverage customer care practices in improving healthcare delivery.
The study among its usefulness adds to existing customer
care practices and how it can be used to improve performance of healthcare
institutions in Ghana. It will also serve as a good source of reference to
stake holders in healthcare delivery so far as instituting and ensuring
effective customer care practices are concerned. Further, this would enable the
public hospital derive optimum results from its effective customer care
practices employed by these health institutions.
Finally, the results of this study will help the healthcare
institution in general and public hospital in particular to ensure the need to
put in place pragmatic customer care practices measures in order to improve day
to day healthcare delivery in the institution.
The researcher employed a qualitative method for this
research work. A field study was conducted to obtain the relevant data for the
study. The target population for the collection of data for the research is the
patients, staff and administrators in the various selected public health
institutions in Kumasi Metropolis. The researcher adopted simple random
sampling techniques in collecting data from respondents who consist of staff in
both managerial/supervisory positions, patients and junior staff selected
public health institutions in Kumasi metropolis. Data was collected through
direct visitation, observation, interviews and questionnaires analyzed with the
use of Statistical Package for Social Science.
1.8 The Scope of
the Study
The general objective of the study is to investigate into
customer care practices in Ghanaian public health institution - a case of
selected government hospital in Kumasi Metropolis.
This research aims at taking an extensive look at
investigating into Customer Care Practices in the public health institutions in
Ghana. This research work will identify the dimensions of customer care
practices in public health sector, analyse the satisfaction of patients on
customer care practices in the public health institutions, and evaluate the
challenges associated with the promotion of customer care practices in public
health institution in Ghana.
Kumasi Metropolis was taken as a case study because as a
second largest city in Ghana with different public health centers and
institutions providing heterogeneous health services to different people, the
Metropolis stands as an ideal place to conduct such research.
The study is supposed to cover all public health
institutions in Ghana; nevertheless, the researcher selected some public health
institutions Kumasi metropolis as a case study to represent all public health
institutions in Ghana, because of time and resource constraints. Furthermore
for geographical reasons, the data coverage of the research will be limited to
the Kumasi Metropolis. However it is believed above mentioned shortfalls, will
not hamper the credibility of information therein contained to any marked
degree.
1.10 Organization
of the study
The study is divided into five chapters. Chapter One deals
with the background, the statement of the problems, research question,
justification of the study, objectives, methodology, scope, limitation as well
as organization of the study. Chapter Two provides an overview of existing
literature. This chapter provided a review of already existing literature on
this topic. Chapter Three gives the profile of the selected district to be
studied. It also describes the data that form the basis for the research
reported in this paper and provides an overview of the methods or the
methodology used in the study. Again it will deal with the theoretical
framework and the empirical model that underpin the analysis of the data.
Chapter Four reports the results of the empirical analysis. That is, it deals
with the presentation, analysis and discussion of the data collected from the
field. Chapter Five which is the last chapter look at the summary of findings,
conclusions and policy recommendations to management of public health
institutions in Ghana.
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Item Type: Ghanaian Topic | Size: 80 pages | Chapters: 1-5
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