Quality of service as a strategy in the public administration of the health services in Maracaibo (Venezuela)

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of this research is to determine the quality of service as a strategy in the public administration of the Public Health Services, in order to establish the mutual relationship between Type 4 Hospitals and Type 3 Ambulatory clinics, with their different clients. The research shows an emerging paradigm with an interpretative, quantitative and qualitative focus, which lead to the use of methodological triangulation. This is an exploratory research on its first phase, and a descriptive one on its second phase, the field work. A non-experimental, transversal design was structured. The population was composed by seven (7) Directors: four (4) of hospitals, three (3) of the national health clinics, as well as four hundred (400) patients. The collection of data was carried out through the technique of interviews, with open questions for the first population, so as to measure the quality of service offered by the health centers. The technique used for the second population was a survey and the questionnaire was the instrument. This instrument was structured by means of a scale combination, which allowed first to measure the perception the patients have for the service they receive, and second to determine the factors that impact the quality of this service. The test of dependability was applied by means of the coefficient of the two halves throwing 0.90% for the second. As a conclusion, it was determined that the administrators don’t perceive service as a main variable or strategy, but rather as an obligation, so it is necessary to make changes both at the level of moral values, and at the perceptive process. Therefore, it is recommended that hospitals and national health clinics respond with actions on aspects where the users of the service perceive weaknesses, which is in most of the cases. It is patients who evaluate the quality of service.