Gestión de la calidad de atención en laboratorios clínicos de hospitales públicos en Maracaibo, Venezuela

Abstract

Objective Evaluating how clinical laboratories' quality was being managed according to the view of external users, thereby determining the dimensions of quality related to their satisfaction and sociodemographic characteristics. Methods The study was descriptive; the sample consisted of 1,875 outpatients attending the laboratories of type 3 and 4 care level public hospitals located in the metropolitan area of Zulia State in Venezuela between October and December 2008. A previously validated survey was applied. Frequency allocation, multivariate analysis and variance analysis were used for analysing data. Results The results showed that the most users were female (72.7 %), of local origin (87.9 %), aged between 15 and 45 (65.7 %) and had received primary and secondary education (70.5 %). Multivariate analysis showed that quality management could be evaluated in terms of accessibility, tangible elements, response ability, safety and professional competence. There were highly significant differences (p<0.001) between educational level and age when evaluating management quality. Weaknesses were revealed concerning time spent waiting in reception, waiting room comfort and safety measures used by technical staff. Conclusions The results should lead to establishing action aimed at evaluating the degree of improvement in service and proposed targets for improving the quality of attention; such measures will form part of a quality assurance programme in accordance with international standards.