Comparative Study of Patients’ Satisfaction with Nursing Service in Major Units of Selected Training Hospitals in Tehran

Background: A patient's satisfaction with nursing service is one of the main indices for measuring the quality and effectiveness of health care. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare patients' satisfaction with the nursing service provided in selected training hospitals in Tehran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 using Patient's Satisfaction Standard questionnaire (PSI) in 7 selected training hospitals in Tehran. In this study, 336 patients discharged from 4 major units of each hospital namely internal, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics, were selected and studied randomly. Data were analyzed using the SPSS18 software. Results: The results of this study showed that the pediatric unit recorded maximum patients’ satisfaction with nursing care with a mean and SD of 3.78±0.68, while the surgery unit recorded minimum satisfaction with a mean and SD of 3.35±0.65. Also, a significant difference was observed between patients' satisfaction with nursing service in major units such as internal, surgery, obstetrics and pediatrics (P=0.015). Conclusion: However, significant differences were found in terms of degree of satisfaction with nursing service between the major units of the hospitals. These differences may be due to the characteristics of providing care, unit, patient or family. Therefore, future research should be conducted in order to identify the cause of the difference in satisfaction between the different hospital units

Measuring Efficiency of Knowledge Production in Health Research Centers Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA): A Case Study in Iran

Introduction: Efficiency analysis is necessary in order to avoid waste of materials, energy, effort, money, and time during scientific research. Therefore, analyzing efficiency of knowledge production in health areas is necessary, especially for developing and in-transition countries. As the first step in this field, the aim of this study was the analysis of selected health research center efficiency using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Methods: This retrospective and applied study was conducted in 2015 using input and output data of 16 health research centers affiliated with a health sciences university in Iran during 2010–2014. The technical efficiency of health research centers was evaluated based on three basic data envelopment analysis (DEA) models: input- oriented, output-oriented, and hyperbolic-oriented. The input and output data of each health research center for years 2010–2014 were collected from the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHE) profile and analyzed by R software. Results: The mean efficiency score in input-oriented, output-oriented, and hyperbolic-oriented models was 0.781, 0.671, and 0.798, respectively. Based on results of the study, half of the health research centers are operating below full efficiency, and about one-third of them are operating under the average efficiency level. There is also a large gap between health research center efficiency relative to each other. Conclusion: It is necessary for health research centers to improve their efficiency in knowledge production through better management of available resources. The higher level of efficiency in a significant number of health research centers is achievable through more efficient management of human resources and capital. Further research is needed to measure and follow the efficiency of knowledge production by health research centers around the world and over a period of time