Edinburgh Napier University

  Introduction
Measuring consumer expectations and perceptions of service provision is supported
by both practitioners and academics. The National Health Service, as a result of
policy reforms and structural changes, recognises the role of the patient in health care
and is gradually incorporating patient views in policy and practice. This study
explores the experience of the patient and its affect on the expectations and
perceptions of the service provision. Two hospitals, antenatal and postnatal groups
were utilised to ascertain the views and experiences of pregnant and recently
delivered women.
Methodology
Focus groups were held with women who had delivered, since the implementation of
the Patient's Charter, to establish the expectations of the women using the service
provision. Issues of priority to these women and the perception of their overall service
experience were also considered. In-depth interviews were then conducted with
pregnant women to identify expectations of their forthcoming delivery and subsequent
in-depth interviews were conducted with the same women once they had delivered
their children. This was to evaluate their perceptions and compare them with their
initial expectations. Finally, key themes and recurrent ideas were tested, using
hypotheses developed after the qualitative research. The questionnaire approach was
to substantiate or discount the findings of the first two stages of the research.
Dissemination
Familiar service quality attributes were recognisable from the analysis of the
comments. Although there were issues on which women agreed unanimously, many
elements of the service provision were viewed differently by women with experience
and women from varying categories of residential area. The results also demonstrated
that the use and dependence of referent groups varied between the women and that
this was imperative for communication. Statistically, the use of referent groups,
substantiated through the questionnaire analysis, provided significant results to
support the initial findings.
Contribution
Using the information from the qualitative research, a Maternity User's Matrix was
developed identifying key characteristics of users' of this service provision. The
significant results from the quantitative research were used to develop an existing
consumer behaviour model. Using expectations, levels of satisfaction and perceptions
of consumers, this research has implications for service provision, health practice,
future research and service itself.