The Influence of Patients Demographic Characteristics On Service Quality in Outpatient Department in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana

Patients’ demographic characteristics as a paradigm for the assessment of service quality in hospitals have attracted considerable admiration in recent times. This report envisages the summary of the study that was drawn in the arena of patient influences on service quality delivery in a teaching hospital in Ghana. The present study indicates the influence of patients’ demographic characteristics on service quality in the outpatient department at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi. The study was cross-sectional with a sample of 120 outpatients, selected randomly at the department. Data collection was made through questionnaires that consisted of 60 items. The questionnaires were subdivided into thematic headings such as Patients’ Demographics, Levels of Service Quality, and Patients’ Health Status. The only inclusion criteria for choosing the patients to answer the questionnaires were those who were willing to participate in the exercise. It was not compulsory to participate but the patients’ desire and ability to participate based on their own free will. Patients aged 18 years and above who desired to participate were included in the procedure irrespective of their gender, race, or ethnic group. However, those that were unwilling to participate and those with severe illnesses, such as mentally retarded, stroke and physical dysfunctions were excluded from participation. Structured in-depth pretested interviews were conducted with the questionnaires. There were no right or wrong answers to the answers patients gave. All answers were considered correct. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20 software, regression, and correlation, were carried out, and descriptive statistics results were in standard deviation, percentages, pie charts, tables, and figures. The SERVQUAL instrument was used for the testing of service quality at the department. The findings of this research showed that, out of the total number of 120 outpatients, 58.3% were males and 41.7% were females with a mean age of 43 years and a standard deviation, of 16.7.