Revista de Pesquisa em Turismo e Hospitalidade

A Survey of Factors Affecting Patients' Decision in Selecting Governmental and Private Hospitals in Tabriz, Iran

Ali Jannati, Mohammad Amin Bahrami, Ma?soomeh Gholizadeh, Leili Alizadeh and Mohammad Taghi Khodayari

A Survey of Factors Affecting Patients’ Decision in Selecting Governmental and Private Hospitals in Tabriz, Iran

Background and objectives: In the today’s competitive market of hospital services many factors affect the selection of hospitals by patients. The aim of this research was to recognize the factors affecting hospital selection decision (governmental and private) from patients’ viewpoints in Iran.
Method: This analytical study was done cross-sectional. Research population was comprised of patients hospitalized at Emam Reza Governmental Hospital and Shams Private Hospital of Tabriz, Iran. Enrolled in the study were 376 patients who were selected from 2 hospitals, proportionally. We allocated samples between 2 hospitals based on the number of active beds in every hospital. Required data was collected by a researcher-made questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Chi-Square and T-test statistical tests.
Findings: The findings of study indicated that some factors including referring to hospital by ambulance, physicians’ advice, family income, insurance type, hospital services quality, employment of patients’ family members in hospital, cost of services provided at hospital and information given to patients about their disease are the factors affecting the hospital selection decision by patients.
Conclusions: Various factors affect the selection of governmental or private hospital by patients. However, the higher percentage of emergency cases referring to governmental hospitals and pervasive role of physicians’ advice in hospital selecting caused the patients not to practically have any role in selecting their hospitals.