REFERQUAL: a pilot study of a new service quality assessment instrument in the GP exercise referral scheme setting

A modified version of the SERVQUAL instrument was designed for use in the ERS setting and subsequently piloted amongst 27 ERS clients.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 'α'. Furthermore, clients responded favourably towards the usability, wording and applicability of the instrument's items.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 scrutinise the proposed dimensional structure.Exercise Referral Schemes (ERSs) in the UK involve a recommendation from a clinician to a patient concerning the up-take of physical activity, based upon certain pre-determined criteria. The patient then attends a local exercise centre, where an advanced exercise instructor will create an appropriate individualised programme, usually designed to last around 12–15 weeks. The publication of 'Exercise Referral Systems: A National Quality Assurance Framework' [1] was, in part, aimed at improving standards among existing ERSs and aiding the development of new systems. However, many schemes both pre- and post-publication of this document suffered from and struggled with issues relating to poor levels of adherence [2,3]. Client perceptions of excellent service quality are highlighted as being crucial to the process of attracting new members and retaining existing members in the leisure management industry [4], a theme not uncommon within other service industries [5-7]. The development of a tool to accurately assess service quality within the