A Study on Consumers‘ Expectations and Perceptions and its Impact on the Service Quality Dimensions of Primary Healthcare Centers (PHC) in Thrissur District, Kerala.

Antony K. M.; Dr. V. Ravikumar

Volume : VII, Issue : VII, July - 2018

A Study on Consumers‘ Expectations and Perceptions and its Impact on the Service Quality Dimensions of Primary Healthcare Centers (PHC) in Thrissur District, Kerala.

Antony K. M. , Dr. V. Ravikumar

Abstract :

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in human beings.¹ Access to efficient and economic healthcare services has tremendous importance at present, due to the alarming growth rate of lifestyle diseases irrespective of any demographic factors. Kerala is the only State in India which remains in the ‘very high human development index (HDI)’ with respect to all the three dimensions, education, health and income. The major healthcare service providers in Kerala are government hospitals and private hospitals which are differentiated mainly by the quality of services offered, ownership status, profit motive and the affordability to consumers. It has been reported by media and researches that the utilization of public healthcare services by people are comparatively less, even though it is either free of cost or highly subsidized by government. In this backdrop, a study has been conducted at grass root level government healthcare providers, the Primary Healthcare Centre’s (PHC’s), to find outthe underlying reasons for dissatisfaction of consumers. This article examines the root causes by compå consumers’ expectations and perceptions on the service quality dimensions of PHC’s in Thrissur District, Kerala, using SERVQUAL and GAP models.