Investigation of Quality Gap in Physiotherapy Services in Public Clinics in Zahedan City, Iran Using SERVQUAL Model

Purpose: Providing better services in physiotherapy clinics, awareness of perception and expectation of clients in these clinics, and determination of the gap between these two components, are of utmost importance. This study aimed to investigate the gap between expectation and perception of the physiotherapy patients using government health centers in Zahedan City, Iran.&nbsp; Methods: A sample of 240 clients of public physiotherapy clinics in Zahedan City, Iran were participated in this cross-sectional (descriptive-analytical) study which was done from July 2015 to April 2016. The subjects were selected using stratified random sampling method. The relevant data were collected using modified SERVQUAL questionnaire. The data were analyzed in SPSS.21 using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests.&nbsp; Results: The results demonstrated negative quality gaps in all five SERVQUAL dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy) in public clinics (P<0.05). The least and the most quality gap were observed in the assurance and tangibles dimensions, respectively in government clinics.&nbsp; There were no statistically significant relationships between quality gap score and variables of age, sex and education level in public clinics (P>0.05).&nbsp; Conclusion: Based on the results, perception of patients in all dissensions was lower than their expectations. Therefore, there are some opportunities of improving delivered physiotherapy services in these clinics. It is recommended that managers of public physiotherapy clinics pay attention to the opinions of clients more than ever, welcome their critics and suggestions about the reform and workplace issues.&nbsp;