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Nov 12, 2024;14 (11): e085727.

Exploratory analysis of factors influencing hospital preferences among the Lebanese population: a cross-sectional study.

Christian-Joseph El Zouki, Abdallah Chahine, Elie Ghadban, Frederic Harb, Jamale El-Eid, Diala El Khoury
Author Information
  1. Christian-Joseph El Zouki: Faculty of Public Health, Université La Sagesse, Furn El Chebbak, Lebanon. ORCID
  2. Abdallah Chahine: School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh, Lebanon.
  3. Elie Ghadban: School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh, Lebanon.
  4. Frederic Harb: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of Balamand, Tripoli, Lebanon.
  5. Jamale El-Eid: Faculty of Public Health, Université La Sagesse, Furn El Chebbak, Lebanon.
  6. Diala El Khoury: Faculty of Public Health, Université La Sagesse, Furn El Chebbak, Lebanon diala.elkhoury@uls.edu.lb.
PMID: 39532358 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-085727

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The primary aim of this research is to uncover the underlying factors that shape hospital selection criteria among individuals in Lebanon.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
SETTING: A survey was circulated across social media platforms and messaging applications in Lebanon from February to May 2023. This questionnaire aimed to gauge participants' opinions on the importance of various factors in their hospital selection process.
PARTICIPANTS: A total of 746 participants filled out the survey. We targeted Lebanese adults who were not hospitalised at the time of survey submission.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We performed an exploratory factor analysis to examine the underlying structure of our 70-question survey. Reliability analysis was conducted using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega. Factor scores were derived by aggregating raw scores and computing the mean.
RESULTS: The survey results identified eight key factors that accounted for 58.02% of the total variance, with excellent sampling adequacy (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin=0.921, Bartlett's p<0.001). These factors exhibited good internal consistency, as indicated by Cronbach's alpha values for each factor. Ranked by importance for hospital selection, the factors are: staff qualities (α=0.773), administrative services (α=0.801), reputation (α=0.773), ease of access (α=0.704), room attributes (α=0.796), architectural and physical surroundings (α=0.828), luxury amenities (α=0.849) and affiliation and ownership (α=0.661).
CONCLUSION: This paper highlights the hospital characteristics that people may value before selecting a hospital. This insight provides an opportunity for hospital managers to refine their services, ensuring better resonance with people's anticipations. Beyond this, it sheds light on areas where hospitals could strategically invest to elevate their competitive edge in the healthcare market.

Keywords

Factor Analysis Health policy Hospitals Statistical

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MeSH Term

Humans
Lebanon
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Male
Adult
Hospitals
Surveys and Questionnaires
Middle Aged
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Reproducibility of Results
Young Adult
Patient Preference
Journal Article

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0α=0hospitalfactorssurveyselectionanalysisunderlyingamongLebanonstudyimportancetotalLebanesefactorCronbach'salphaFactorscores773servicesOBJECTIVES:primaryaimresearchuncovershapecriteriaindividualsDESIGN:Cross-sectionalSETTING:circulatedacrosssocialmediaplatformsmessagingapplicationsFebruaryMay2023questionnaireaimedgaugeparticipants'opinionsvariousprocessPARTICIPANTS:746participantsfilledtargetedadultshospitalisedtimesubmissionMAINOUTCOMEMEASURES:performedexploratoryexaminestructure70-questionReliabilityconductedusingMcDonald'somegaderivedaggregatingrawcomputingmeanRESULTS:resultsidentifiedeightkeyaccounted5802%varianceexcellentsamplingadequacyKaiser-Meyer-Olkin=0921Bartlett'sp<0001exhibitedgoodinternalconsistencyindicatedvaluesRankedare:staffqualitiesadministrative801reputationeaseaccess704roomattributes796architecturalphysicalsurroundings828luxuryamenities849affiliationownership661CONCLUSION:paperhighlightscharacteristicspeoplemayvalueselectinginsightprovidesopportunitymanagersrefineensuringbetterresonancepeople'santicipationsBeyondshedslightareashospitalsstrategicallyinvestelevatecompetitiveedgehealthcaremarketExploratoryinfluencingpreferencespopulation:cross-sectionalAnalysisHealthpolicyHospitalsStatistical

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