Development and Preliminary Validation of Health Service Measurement Scale (HSMS) for Measuring Effectiveness of Health Care Services in Universities

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a Health Service Measurement Scale (HSMS) for measuring the effectiveness of health care services in public sector universities. For data collection, a deductive method was used. Based on review of literature, a survey questionnaire was developed and administered to 484 teachers from three public universities of Malakand division: university of Swat, university of Malakand and University of Sheringal (SBBU) upper Dir. The scale was developed based on DeVellis (2003) four phase scale development procedure. Factor Analysis technique was utilized for assessing factors which affect the health care services in universities. This study identified four important factors affecting the health care services in universities. These factor were clear communication skills, professional behavior, clinical competency and patient satisfaction. The scale may be used to enhance the effectiveness of the health care units inside the universities regarding provision of necessary treatment as per the approved protocol of health industry. The findings of this study further provide key insights to the management to review the health services and policy makers to enact effective health care policies for the universities. The limitations of the study along with recommendations are provided for future research.