Theses (MBA In Healthcare Management)

Aims: With the rapid proliferation of data in healthcare it has provided an opportune platform creation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI has brought a paradigm shift for healthcare professionals, promising improvement in delivery and quality. This study aims to determine the perception of healthcare personnel on perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and subjective norm toward attitude for artificial intelligence acceptance. Methods: This is a cross-sectional single institutional study of employees’ perception of adopting AI in the hospital. The study population is all healthcare personnel of a private hospital. The inclusion criteria include all healthcare personnel involved with clinical management such as doctors, nurses, and others. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire adapted from Technology Acceptance Model and a four-point Likert scale was used for the measurement variables in this study. Data were analysed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26. Results: There were 96 respondents. This study started off with three hypotheses but has found that only two hypotheses have been accepted and one hypothesis has been rejected. H2 to H3 perceived usefulness and subjective norm respectively, showed positive relationship between their perception on artificial intelligence acceptance and were accepted However, H1 which was ease of use, was rejected as it did not generate a positive relationship between ease of use on attitude and artificial intelligence acceptance. Conclusion: This study has shown the significant relationship and the importance of ease of use, perceived usefulness, and subjective norm to the acceptance of AI. In the study results, there are determining factor and mostly those with most interaction with the patients and clinical management have a strong acceptance of AI in their practices. Key words: Artificial Intelligence, Acceptance, Healthcare, Healthcare Professionals

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immense impact on healthcare systems worldwide particularly in terms of infection control measures. Hospital Sungai Buloh has implemented a novel walk-away queuing system for outpatient clinics, namely the iQMS. This system enables infection control via facilitating social distancing whilst waiting for their appointments and affords waiting location flexibility. However, the factors affecting outpatients’ intention to use the iQMS is yet unknown, and this is the subject of this study. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Perceived System Usability and sociodemographic factors were used to study this relationship. This study used a cross-sectional quantitative design utilizing a self-administered questionnaire to obtain data. The questionnaire comprised of sociodemographic factors, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Intention to use the iQMS and Perceived System Usability. Two hundred and fifty-four respondents completed the questionnaire, corresponding to a response rate of 87.8%. The questionnaire showed satisfactory construct validity, discriminant validity and reliability. Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use had a significant impact on the Intention to use the iQMS, while Perceived System Usability showed a moderate positive relationship with the Perceived Ease of Use. Sociodemographic factors did not influence the Intention to use the iQMS. In conclusion, the Intention to use the iQMS is associated with the Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness of the system. Keywords: COVID-19, Queue Management System, Technology Acceptance Model, System Usability Scale

Aims: With the increasing complexity of healthcare system, there has been an increase in the need for more healthcare managers to manage the delivery of health services. Studies have shown that organizations with management practices, strong leadership, and clinically qualified managers have had greater performances. The application of Evidence-Based Medicine has long existed, which have led to the idea of applying the same within the field of management – Evidence-Based Management (EBMgt). This study therefore aims to understand the intention of these healthcare leaders to apply the practice of EBMgt in their decision-making process. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 234 healthcare managers in major private healthcare facilities in Malaysia. An online survey was distributed to healthcare managers from 58 private hospitals in Malaysia with MSQH accreditation. The survey was adapted from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and a fivepoint Likert scale was used for the measurement variables in this study. The data collected was exported to IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26. Results: Attitude towards use of EBMgt has a direct positive effect on intention to use (β = 0.489, p ˂0.05) and so as with subjective norm which also indicated a direct positive effect on intention to use (β = 0.317, p ˂ 0.05). However, perceived behavioural control was found not to be statistically significant (β = -0.038, p ˂ 0.47) in relation to intention to use EBMgt. Conclusion: Attitude and subjective norms were significant to predict healthcare managers’ intention to use EBMgt which will likely lead to actual use of EBMgt in their decision making. Key words: Evidence-based management, EBMgt, Attitude, Subjective norm, Perceived behavioural control, Intention, Healthcare management.

Augmented Reality (AR) technology and its applications in various industries and sectors within healthcare itself has been increasingly popular and on-demand as the world approaches Industrial Revolution 4.0. With its enormous and continuously progressive advancements in the healthcare industry, basic yet vital services like consultations can be further improved with the integration of technologies. This study proposed a conceptual framework derived from 2 underlying theories; the Technological Acceptance Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour model using the constructs Perceived Ease Of Use, Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Enjoyment, mediated by behavioural Intention To Use, towards patient’s Actual Usage of AR technology application in aiding their consultations with their healthcare professionals. A survey questionnaire was developed and distributed via online administration through social media platforms and internal emails of the International Medical University. 539 responses have been selected by simple sampling technique. All hypothesis proposed in this study’s conceptual framework has been found to be significantly positive in ultimately influencing an individual’s eventual usage of AR technology application in facilitating consultations. These results revealed the interrelationships of the constructs involved, thus enhancing our understanding on the factors of AR to be used in aiding consultations sessions. The findings of this study have some important practical implications for the improvement of conventional consultation methods so as to improve patients’ understanding which has an impact on their overall health compliance and outcome.

The quantification or description of people's use of healthcare services for the aim of preventing and curing health issues, improving health and well-being, or obtaining information about their condition and prognosis of health is known as healthcare utilisation. Population ageing is a widespread, global phenomena with societal and national consequences. To deal with this demographic trend, there is a necessity for more financial resources to be allocated to healthcare services. A previous study carried out in Malaysia on healthcare utilization among older persons was focused on Northern region only but not in the southern region. Utilization of outpatient services and in-patient services among older persons is not documented in the Johor region unlike northern region of Malaysia. Hence, the objective of this study was to investigate the factors that influence healthcare utilization among older persons in Johor region using Andersen’s behavioural model. A survey was carried out among those aged 65 and above in urban and rural region of Johor. Inpatient care was significantly justified by predisposing, enabling and need factors while outpatient care was more significantly justified by predisposing factor as well as need factor than enabling factor. Theoretical and practical implications for delivering health services to older persons in Johor are proposed in this study. Additionally, assessing the general characteristics of older persons by focusing on their health-care utilisation gives information for developing health-care programs and policies in light of the recent rise in health-care concerns. Keywords: Healthcare utilization; Predisposing factors; Enabling factors; Need factors;

Background: Telemedicine is a new technology innovation in Malaysia, but it plays an increasingly important role in the country’s healthcare system. In response to the limited discussion regarding its acceptance by people, this study aims to increase knowledge about telemedicine adoption factors in Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among residents residing in Malaysia. Data was collected through an online survey. A total of 403 respondents participated in the survey. The results were analysed using the PLS-SEM method. Results: It was found that the service quality, user satisfaction and perceived usefulness play a significant and important role in affecting users’ intention to adopt telemedicine services. Perceived ease of use is however not significantly influencing the adoption of telemedicine. The results also confirmed the moderating role of user satisfaction on the relationship between service quality, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on telemedicine acceptance. Conclusions: Although most Malaysians were willing to use telemedicine services to manage their health condition, they insisted on quality service and a useful system. Since telemedicine is still in its infancy in Malaysia, further research is needed to determine its impact on patients' quality of healthcare service. Keywords: telemedicine, service quality, user satisfaction, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, behavioural intention, technology adoption

BACKGROUND: Assessing the quality of healthcare delivery care services in medical facilities is crucial, and maternal satisfaction serves as a key metric in this evaluation. A positive experience with mother’s care is closely linked to improved health outcomes for both babies and mothers. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study was to evaluate mother's level of satisfaction regarding the service quality of delivery care service in the private hospitals utilizing SERVQUAL model. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was implemented utilizing the SERVQUAL model. 272 postnatal women attending the facility were selected to take part in the study. Data was gathered using a validated SERVQUAL questionnaire and was analysed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics was done, and paired sample t-test were performed to compare mean gap scores. Pearson correlation was employed to identify correlation between Servqual dimension and maternal satisfaction. We considered a p-value below 0.05 to be statistically significant.. RESULTS: The findings of this study indicate that mothers were all expressed satisfaction with the delivery care provided by private hospitals. However, there were still negative gap score for all five service dimensions, signifying a reduction in satisfaction level on each Servqual domain. The overall mean gap score for satisfaction level in the 5 service dimensions was -0.264 (±SD 0.55), and for each dimension : tangiblity (-0.24), reliability (-0.25), empathy (-0.26), assurance (-0.26), and responsiveness (-0.3). CONCLUSION: Overall, mother were satisfied with the care service provided during childbirth in private hospitals. However, there were minor gaps persisted between their perceptions and expectation scores, especially responsiveness dimension. A subtle improvement may be required to further enhance mother’s satisfaction by addressing factors that affecting level of satisfaction. Keywords : Maternal satisfaction, Delivery care service, Private hospital, SERVQUAL model

The transformation of healthcare delivery has inspired more people all around the globe to seek health information online. This study investigates the factors influencing online health information seeking activity among Malaysian millennials, particularly in the aftermath of COVID-19. This study employs a quantitative, cross-sectional research design based on a combination of the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS) and the Information Adoption Model (IAM), aimed to investigate the relationship between personal characteristics, health-related factors, information and source quality. The data revealed that the majority of Malaysian millennials use search engines to get health information only when it is absolutely required. Furthermore, the primary motive for seeking health-related information focused around therapy and medicines. The salience of health problems, high quality argument, reputable source of information, and perceived usefulness of information were all significant predictors of online health information seeking behaviour (OHISB). However, there were no significant correlation between demographics, direct experience, and personal beliefs with OHISB. Furthermore, this study found that information usefulness plays an important mediating role in strengthening the link between salience, argument quality, and source trustworthiness towards OHISB. This study, which focuses primarily on millennials may restrict generalizability to other generations and cultural contexts. Social bias from selfreported surveys might potentially have an impact on the findings as well. Despite these limitations, the novel and fresh viewpoint of this conceptual framework and the insight provided, may be utilised as a stepping stone for future studies to be undertaken in the digital health context. Finally, this study aids various stakeholders to further understand the nature of Malaysian millennials' online health information seeking behaviours in this present digital age.

To examine the impact of ESG disclosure on the firm performance which is measured by firm’s financial performance (Return of Equity (ROE)) and firm’s market value (Tobin Q) for healthcare related companies listed in Bursa Malaysia. Specifically, this study investigates the impact of individual component of ESG, which is environment (ENV), Social (SOC) and governance (GOV) disclosure by healthcare companies listed on Bursa Malaysia on their firm performance which is measured by firm’s financial performance (Return of Equity (ROE)) and firm’s market value (Tobin Q). In addition, this study also examines the interaction effects between these ESG components on the firm performance which is measured by firm’s financial performance and firm’s market value. The study used panel data that includes all listed healthcare companies on Bursa Malaysia during the period 2016 to 2021. The panel regression analysis was used to examine the hypotheses and to answer the research questions of the study. The results showed that ESG disclosure has a positive relationship with the firm’s ROE and the Tobin Q. However, only in the case of ROE, the effect is significant. Meanwhile, the findings for individual ESG subcomponents showed that environmental (ENV) and governance (GOV) are negatively associated with ROE, while social (SOC) is positively associated with ROE. In contrast, all subcomponents of ENV, SOC and GOV were found to have a positive relationship with Tobin Q. However, none of the association is significant. The interaction effects between subcomponents of ENV, SOC and GOV on the firm’s performance produced a mixed results for both, ROE and Tobin Q. The findings from this study concluded that leveraging on the practice of ESG could enhance the sustainability of business operation of healthcare companies ultimately suggesting that the business proprietor should increase their level of awareness towards ESG integration into business operations. Keywords: ESG, Sustainability, Financial Performance, Healthcare, Bursa Malaysia