Abstract
The objective of the study was to qualitatively evaluate the managerial and organisational issues associated with service quality in a privately funded alcohol treatment centre in the UK. Two different groups of participants at a private treatment clinic were interviewed. The first group comprised 25 of its patients. The second group comprised 15 staff members of the same clinic. All 40 interviews were transcribed and a thematic analysis was performed on the data to reveal the key themes. Six themes emerged from the interviews amongst patients and staff of the treatment clinic. The six themes were: (1) the fellowship of patients, (2) professionalism, (3) process and measurement, (4) incarceration, (5) empathy gap, and (6) access to treatment. Findings suggested there was a strong emphasis on management of the service delivery with established quality systems and performance measurement systems in place. The two service quality gaps, suggested by the research, were the rigid delivery of service and a lack of empathetic relationships with patients. Furthermore, by evaluating the service quality delivery from the service user’s perspective, a voice was given to a group of patients, who in research terms have gone largely unheard.
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Appendix 1: Topic Guides for Participant Interviews on Whether the Treatment Clinic Delivers a Quality Service to Patients
Appendix 1: Topic Guides for Participant Interviews on Whether the Treatment Clinic Delivers a Quality Service to Patients
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What does a quality service mean to you?
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What do you think are the criteria for a quality service in the clinic?
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Who do you think decides whether the service is good or not?
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Who do you think judges whether a good service has been delivered?
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Are systems in place to deliver a quality service? What are these?
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Are practices in place to deliver a quality service? What are these?
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What are the gaps in the service provision?
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Who is important in the service delivery process?
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What do you think about the service overall?
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Resnick, S.M., Griffiths, M.D. Service Quality in Alcohol Treatment: A Qualitative Study. Int J Ment Health Addiction 8, 453–470 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-009-9216-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-009-9216-2