Understanding Age-Sensitive Hospital Service Quality Perceptions: Insights from Faridabad and Gurgaon

Service quality perception plays a pivotal role in shaping patient satisfaction, trust, and long-term engagement with healthcare institutions. As patient expectations evolve, demographic factors particularly age have gained importance in understanding variations in service quality evaluation. This study examines the relationship between patient age groups and perceived hospital service quality across two regional healthcare settings, Faridabad and Gurgaon. Using data from 507 patients, service quality perceptions were classified into three clusters: Quality Seekers, Acceptable Patients, and Quality-Oriented Patients. Cross-tabulation analysis and Chi-Square tests were applied to assess age-wise and region-wise variations. The findings reveal that patients aged 21–34 years dominate the Quality-Oriented cluster in both regions, indicating heightened sensitivity and expectations regarding service delivery. While the Pearson Chi-Square test shows no statistically significant categorical association between age and service quality perception, the Linear-by-Linear Association test identifies a significant directional trend, suggesting that service quality perception changes progressively with age. Gurgaon hospitals demonstrate a relatively more balanced age-wise distribution across service quality clusters, indicating more inclusive service delivery models. The study concludes that age influences service quality perception in a nuanced and gradual manner, necessitating differentiated and age-sensitive hospital service strategies.