Research in Medicine

Background: This study aimed to translate the SERVQUAL questionnaire adapted for hospital services by Babakus et al. to Persian language. This questionnaire consists of five dimensions in two categories for expectations and perceptions. The hospital services’ quality gap is assessed by the difference between expectations and perceptions.
Materials and methods: This is a descriptive study. Four translators using forward-backward technique translated the English version of questionnaire into Persian language. The content and face validity of the translated questionnaire was tested and confirmed. In order to test the reliability and construct validity the questionnaire was administered to 200 patients admitted to Taleghani hospital from January to May 2013. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 22.
Results: Given the nature of this study and the lack of ability to use test–retest method, the internal consistency of the questionnaire was tested using Guttman split-half coefficient and in order to examine the dimensionality exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and correlation tests were used and a two-construct measure model was justified (CFMIN/DF=3.897, CFI=0.997).
Conclusion: This study showed that translated version of SERVQUAL questionnaire has acceptable reliability and validity and is a practical instrument for evaluating service quality of hospitals from the patients’ perspective. Keywords: Hospital, SERVQUAL, Expectations, Perceptions, Service quality.