SERVQUAL and New Public Service in Public Emergency Departments: A Systematic Review Lalu Najmul Erpan, Ngadisah
Universitas Terbuka
Abstract
Emergency departments in public hospitals serve as the primary entry point for acute healthcare services. Empirical studies on service quality evaluation using SERVQUAL and public service perspectives remain dispersed across disciplines. This systematic literature review aimed to synthesise evidence on SERVQUAL dimensions and expectation-perception gaps, determinants of perceived service quality and satisfaction, and New Public Service (NPS) interpretations in public emergency departments. The review followed PRISMA 2020. Literature was searched in Scopus (2021-2026, Tier Q1 filter) and supplemented through snowballing, citation tracking, and hand searching. PICo-based eligibility criteria were applied. Sixty reports were included (22 from Scopus- 38 from other sources). Thematic synthesis was conducted because of heterogeneous study designs. Results indicated that the SERVQUAL five-dimensional model was the dominant assessment framework, with negative service quality gaps reported across dimensions, especially responsiveness and empathy in public emergency settings. The reported determinants included waiting time and patient flow (operational), health literacy, patient rights and equity (patient), and nurse autonomy, resilience, and facility readiness (organizational). Citizen participation, equitable access, and accountability, all NPS-related elements, were separately measured from the SERVQUAL measurement. No study simultaneously applied SERVQUAL gap analysis, a public emergency department setting, and an explicit NPS framework. The review consolidates existing evidence and identifies an integrative research gap relevant to the evaluation of quality in regional public hospital emergency services.
Keywords: emergency department, New Public Service, public hospital, SERVQUAL, systematic review
Topic: Building Adaptive and Digitally-Enabled Public Administrations for Responsive Governance (Adaptive Governance- Digital Public Administration- Responsive Public Service Delivery)
