THE ROLE OF GENDER EFFECTS MODERATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN HEALTHCARE SECTOR: A CASE OF FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTRE, KEFFI, NASARAWA STATE

This study aimed at examining the role of gender effects moderating the relationship between service quality on customers’ satisfaction in Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State. The objective of this study was to review service quality and customers satisfaction using gender as a moderator in Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State. Data from patients were collected using questionnaire which was distributed to the customers. The formulated hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM and descriptive statistics were analyzed through SPSS. Even though the findings revealed that that there was significant relationship between reliability and customers’ satisfaction; a significant relationship between corporate image and customers’ satisfaction; and a significant relationship between empathy and customers’ satisfaction in the hospital. There was no significant relationship between assurance and customers’ satisfaction; no significant relationship between tangibility and customers’ satisfaction; and gender not moderate the relationship between responsiveness and customers’ satisfaction in the hospital. This study concluded that the findings of this research could potentially provide an important contributions and inputs which would be useful in the process of decision making within the management of the hospital geared towards improvement of customers’ satisfaction in the hospital. We therefore recommended that given the indicators for service quality delivery cum customers’ satisfaction, the hospital should prioritize training of their staff in skills for service quality delivery and motivate the staff with rewards or other incentives to inspire willingness to improve customers’ satisfaction in the hospital