Staff Perceptions of Obstacles to Quality Management Systems in Low- and High- Performing Hospitals in Jordan

Abstract

Implementing a quality management system (QMS) is important for hospitals to deliver high-quality services. Hospitals in Jordan vary greatly in terms of the quality of their services. This study aimed to explore QMS obstacles in low - and high - performing hospitals in Jordan. The study employed a Mixed Method-Sequential Exploratory design. A questionnaire was used to explore the QMS obstacles. The study population was drawn from six public and private hospitals considered low- and high-performing. A total of 908 participants who worked in the six hospitals completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire contained 23 items and was rated using 5-points Likert Scale. The data was analysed using quantitative tools as Descriptive statistics, General Liner Model (Univariate analysis) to determine the major QMS obstacles in low- and high-performing hospitals and to explore the relationship between participants’ background variables. The study found that low-performing hospitals faced six major obstacles: lack of rewards for hospital staff, inadequate material resources, lack of training programmes in sufficient staff motivation, insufficient budget for a QMS, and inadequate authority delegation. Whereas, the high-performing hospitals faced three major obstacles: lack of rewards for hospital staff, inadequate authority delegation, and shortage of staff. The results showed that there were significant differences between low- and high-performance hospitals in terms of the QMS obstacles. The study also provides recommendations for improving the implementation of QMS in Jordanian hospitals.