REFERQUAL: a pilot study of a new service quality assessment instrument in the GP exercise referral scheme setting.
BACKGROUND
The development of an instrument accurately assessing service quality in the GP Exercise Referral Scheme (ERS) industry could potentially inform scheme organisers of the factors that affect adherence rates leading to the implementation of strategic interventions aimed at reducing client drop-out.


METHODS
A modified version of the SERVQUAL instrument was designed for use in the ERS setting and subsequently piloted amongst 27 ERS clients.


RESULTS
Test re-test correlations were calculated via Pearson's 'r' or Spearman's 'rho', depending on whether the variables were Normally Distributed, to show a significant (mean r = 0.957, SD = 0.02, p < 0.05; mean rho = 0.934, SD = 0.03, p < 0.05) relationship between all items within the questionnaire. In addition, satisfactory internal consistency was demonstrated via Cronbach's 'alpha'. Furthermore, clients responded favourably towards the usability, wording and applicability of the instrument's items.


CONCLUSIONS
REFERQUAL is considered to represent promise as a suitable tool for future evaluation of service quality within the ERS community. Future research should further assess the validity and reliability of this instrument through the use of a confirmatory factor analysis to scrutinize the proposed dimensional structure.
Cock
Don
D
Centre for Sport and Dance Studies, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK. D.Cock@ljmu.ac.uk
Adams
Iain C
IC
Ibbetson
Adrian B
AB
Baugh
Phil
P
D004645:Empathy; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005194:Family Practice / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035502:Trust; D006113:United Kingdom