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Quality Assessment of the Oncology Health Service in a Public Hospital

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Abstract

Quality assessment is a crucial issue in the strategic management of the public health sector. The objective of this study is to investigate the patients’ perception of the health system quality and explore the relationships between doctors and long-term cancer patients. The data under study have been collected during a survey conducted with long-term cancer patients who follow an oncological therapy in a Public Hospital. In the study, exploratory factorial analysis is developed and two structural equation models are proposed. The first model describes the service quality as perceived by the patients, which is influenced by four important factors, namely tangible aspects, reliability, empathy (doctor–patient human relations) and hospital organization. The second model describes the relationship between doctors and long-term cancer patients, which is influenced by three factors, that is reliability, empathy and hospital organization. The discussion highlights the contribution that the results of the study may make to the investigation of the possible strategies for improving health care service quality.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Editor and the reviewers, whose comments contribute to improve the paper. The authors thank Prof. A. Calogiuri for her useful contribution in reviewing the English usage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dip. Scienze dell’Economia, Università del Salento, Via per Monteroni, Complesso Ecotekne, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    Monica Palma & Veronica Distefano

  2. Core Lab, Università del Salento, Via per Monteroni, Complesso Ecotekne, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    Alessandra Spennato

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  1. Monica Palma
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  2. Veronica Distefano
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  3. Alessandra Spennato
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Correspondence to Monica Palma.

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Palma, M., Distefano, V. & Spennato, A. Quality Assessment of the Oncology Health Service in a Public Hospital. Soc Indic Res 146, 327–343 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-1889-0

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