Quality of Services in the Hospitals of Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Quality of hospital services leads to increased patient satisfaction and ultimately improves hospital performance. This study aimed to review the quality of services in the hospitals of Iran. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out in 2018. Articles related to assessing quality of services in hospitals were searched in seven electronic databases, until September 2018 and appraised. Finally, 15 articles were selected and analyzed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. Results: According to the random effect model, the overall average score of patients' perception and expectation of the quality of hospital care in Iran were 7.19 (95% CI: 6.63-7.75) and 9.53 (95% CI: 8.99-10.07), respectively. The overall average score of patients' expectation of the quality of hospital care was higher in central provinces and educational hospitals. The average perception and expectation of the quality of services score decrease with increased time (P=0.0001) and increased with increase in sample size (P=0.0001). Conclusion: Overall, the quality of hospital services was lower than patients' expectations. Therefore, health managers and policy-makers should take serious steps for identifying patients' expectation and their dissatisfaction and enhance the quality of hospital services using managerial strategies. Keywords: services quality, hospital, SERVQUAL, Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, Ira