Health care management courses in Greek universities. A first attempt to establish factors affecting satisfaction
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09684881211219389 |
| Date | 20 April 2012 |
| Pages | 139-152 |
| Published date | 20 April 2012 |
| Author | Vangelis Kotsifos,Athanasios Alegakis,Anastas Philalithis |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Health care management courses
in Greek universities
A first attempt to establish factors affecting
satisfaction
Vangelis Kotsifos
University of Crete, Iraklion, Greece
Athanasios Alegakis
Laboratory of Toxicology, Medical School, University of Crete,
Iraklion, Greece, and
Anastas Philalithis
University of Crete, Iraklion, Greece
Abstract
Purpose – The object of this study is to formulate, establish and apply a suitable and reliable tool for
measuring the course experience satisfaction of Master graduates. A questionnaire was formulated,
based on similar tools, and adjusted to the reality of Hellenic Higher Education, in order to measure the
satisfaction of graduates in three Master programmes in the area of health care management.
Design/methodology/approach – Master graduates of the study (n¼162), 2003-2007 admission
years, filled in the questionnaire either electronically (web-based) or by phone interview. The overall
response rate was 50.6 per cent. In total, 37 statements were used for the measure of satisfaction while
other questionnaire parts recorded the demographic, occupational and educational characteristics of
the graduates.
Findings – Analysis revealed seven factors, listed as teaching, skills, assessment, feedback, social
opportunities, facilities and organization of the course. Gender and first degree content do not affect
the produced total satisfaction score. Married participants scored higher than those that are single in
three factors and older participants scored higher than younger ones in two factors. The University of
Crete’s graduates scored higher than other graduates in two factors.
Originality/value – The paper is the first attempt to assess satisfaction, based on the grounds of
quality, for Master programs in Hellenic State Universities. In this study are presented the first results
and conclusions of the application of the developed questionnaire. Further results, relative to
graduates’ occupational status chan ges and professional development, ar e currently under
investigation.
Keywords Greece, Healthcare management, Master course, Graduates, Satisfaction,Measurement,
Customer satisfaction
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The definition of satisfaction in Higher Education (HE) remains controversial and
many approaches have tried to explain both the factors satisfying current students and
graduates, and the very process of satisfaction itself through various theories.
Although there has been extensive research on service provision satisfaction, only a
small proportion of it actually focuses on education (Arambewela, 2003). Hom (2002)
defined satisfaction as an experience of fulfilment of an expected outcome whereas
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0968-4883.htm
Health care
management
courses
139
Quality Assurance in Education
Vol. 20 No. 2, 2012
pp. 139-152
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0968-4883
DOI 10.1108/09684881211219389
To continue reading
Request your trial