Impact of hospital atmosphere on perceived health care outcome.

PURPOSE

Healthcare service quality studies primarily examine the relationships between patients' perceived quality and satisfaction with healthcare services, clinical effectiveness, service use, recommendations and value for money. These studies suggest that patient-independent quality dimensions (structure, process and outcome) are antecedents to quality. The purpose of this paper is to propose an alternative by looking at the relationship between hospital atmosphere and healthcare quality with perceived outcome.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Data were collected from Finland, India, Nigeria and the People's Republic of China. Regression analysis used perceived outcome as the dependent variable and atmosphere and healthcare service quality as independent variables. Findings - Results showed that atmosphere and healthcare service quality have a statistically significant relationship with patient perceived outcomes.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The sample size was small and the sampling units were selected on convenience; thus, caution must be exercised in generalizing the findings.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

The study determined that service quality and atmosphere are considered significant for developing and developed nations. This result could have significant implications for policy makers and service providers developing healthcare quality and hospital atmosphere.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Studies concentrate on healthcare outcome primarily regarding population health status, mortality, morbidity, customer satisfaction, loyalty, quality of life, customer behavior and consumption. However, the study exposes how patients perceive their health after treatment. Furthermore, the authors develop the healthcare service literature by considering atmosphere and perceived outcome.