A fuzzy framework to evaluate service quality in the healthcare industry: An empirical case of public hospital service evaluation in Sicily

A novel fuzzy evaluation framework is applied in this study to evaluate service quality in the public healthcare sector. In particular, the proposed framework is based on the ServQual disconfirmation paradigm and incorporates the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to elicit reliable estimations of service quality expectations. Moreover, degrees of uncertainty, subjectivity and vagueness on the part of stakeholders are addressed via linguistic evaluation scales parameterized by triangular fuzzy numbers. With reference to nine relevant public hospitals in the Sicilian Region (Italy), a detailed case study evaluating four core service criteria and 15 fundamental service items is conducted so as to discern dissatisfying aspects regarding the public healthcare service in the Region. Dissatisfaction reasons with the provided service are identified in the analysis as well, further demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed approach.