BackgroundMeasuring patients’ perception from health service quality as an important element in the assessment of service quality has attracted much attention in recent years. Therefore, this study was conducted to find out how the patients evaluated service quality of clinics at teaching hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran in 2017 and 400 patients were randomly selected from four hospitals. Data were collected using a questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed in previous study. In order to analyze the data, T-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient were calculated using SPSS 23.ResultsThe results indicated that among eight dimensions of health service quality, the patients were more satisfied with physician consultation, services costs and admission process. The highest and lowest mean scores were related to physician consultation (Mean = 4.17), and waiting time (Mean = 2.64), in that order. The total mean score of service quality was 3.73 (± 0.51) out of 5. Outpatient services were assessed as good, moderate and weak by 57.5, 40 and 2.5% of the patients, respectively. There was a significant relationship between the positive perception of service quality and reason for admission, source of recommendation, gender, education level, health status, and waiting time in the clinics (p <  0.05).ConclusionThe majority of the patients had a positive experience with visiting clinics and perceived service provision as good. In fact, patients’ perceptions of physician consultation, provision of information to patients and the environment of delivering services, are the most important determinants of service quality in clinics.

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Background: The healthcare industry is increasingly growing in a competitive atmosphere. One of the essential key issues for the survival of healthcare organizations is patient satisfaction. This study aimed to investigate the impact of health service quality and demographic characteristics on patient satisfaction with outpatient departments at teaching hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018. A sample of 400 patientsreferring to outpatient departments at teaching hospitalswasrandomly selected. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used to collect data which were then analyzed by using SPSS 23. Results: The mean scores of service quality and patient satisfaction were 3.73 ± 0.51 and 3.61 ± 0.97 out of 5, respectively. Moreover, patients’ demographic characteristics; age, marital status, residence area, and service quality dimensions; admission process, physician consultation, service costs, accessibility, and appointment were identified as the most effectivefactors on patient satisfaction. Conclusion: In order to increase patient satisfaction, physicians and reception staff are advised to provide patients with useful information and cost-effective services. Nonetheless,it seems necessary for teaching hospitalsto establish plans which facilitate payment, appointment, and examination process.

Background and Objectives: Pre-hospital emergency staff face stressful environments. Job stress management can make employees stay in their occupations and provide appropriate services to patients as soon as possible. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining job-related stress and its management methods among pre-hospital emergency staff in Iran. Materials and Methods:In this systematic review, published English and Persian studies without time limitation were searched and reviewed electronically in Persian and English databases from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, SID, Magiran, and Google scholar using related keywords. After removing duplicate and unrelated articles, the quality of the articles was evaluated by the authors based on the Strobe checklist. Finally, the narrative synthesis method was used to combine the data.Results: After screening, among the 113 studies, 12 studies reached the final synthesis stage based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Most of the studies reported moderate levels of occupational stress. Individual, occupational, organizational, and environmental factors were effective in the occupational stress of employees. Conclusion:Pre-hospital emergency workers face stressful situations on average in Iran. Using strategies such as educational intervention programs, gratitude programs, and management measures such as reducing work shifts and improving comfort facilities can help reduce the occupational stress of employees working in pre-hospital emergency centers.

Introduction: Nowadays, measuring the quality of services in order to effectively allocate resources and ensure a higher level of patient satisfaction is on the agenda of healthcare managers. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible gap between the perception and expectation of service quality from patients and managers' perspective in the selected outpatient clinics affiliated with hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019. The required data were collected based on a valid and reliable questionnaire (SERVQUAL). Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to analyze the data. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results: The patients' expectation (4.76) was higher than managers' expectation (4.58), while the patients' perception level of service quality (3.20) was lower than the managers' perception level (3.73). The gap between expectation and perception of patients in all dimensions was statistically significant; moreover, the highest gap was found in the responsiveness dimension. From the managers' viewpoint, a significant relationship was reported between the expectation and perception gap in all dimensions except the responsiveness one. Moreover, the highest mean score gap was related to the tangibility dimension (P-Value = -1.73). Conclusion:There was a negative gap between the expectations and perceptions from managers and patients' perspectives in all the service quality dimensions. Hospital managers should attempt to reduce the gap between the expectation and perception by providing timely services and improving staff communication skills.