Abstract

Does the Physical Evidence in Emergency Department Affect the Loyalty of the Beneficiaries in Jordanian Healthcar e Organizations?

Healthcare organizations are facing increasing competition in the Jordanian marketplace and must find ways to increase customer loyalty and trust to stay relevant in the healthcare marketplace. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of the physical environment factors in emergency department effect on beneficiaries’ loyalty. The study population consisted of all Jordanian beneficiaries who visited the emergency department in any hospital whether government, private, or university hospitals. The researchers sent out a questionnaire for 400 Jordanian subjects who visited the emergency department. In total, 333 questionnaires were retrieved. The study concluded that physical environment factors of the emergency department can have a positive impact on patient loyalty through the interaction of four dimensions (ambient factors, design factors, equipment and staff members factors, medical management factors). When analyzed separately, the design factors had no positive impact on patient loyalty. The study also concluded that medical Management Factors had the highest impact on patient loyalty. With respect to demographic variables, 59.2% of individuals visited the emergency department 2-5 times/year and 44.4% of the sample visited private hospitals for emergency cases. The study recommends healthcare organizations to focus on physical environment factors to attract patients and make them loyal.

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