This study aimed to
investigate the relationships between service quality, customer loyalty, and
customer retention within private healthcare facilities in Mbarara City. It
specifically focused on how service quality affects customer retention and
loyalty, and how loyalty in turn influences retention. A cross-sectional design
was used, with data collection and analysis conducted quantitatively. The study
encompassed 36 operational private healthcare centres, with their customers
serving as the subjects of the investigation. The study distributed self-administered
closed-ended questionnaires to the participants, and the data collected was
later processed and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists
(SPSS), version 21. To address the research objectives, Pearson correlation was
utilized to examine the relationships between the variables under
investigation, while Ordinary Least Square regression was employed to assess
the model’s predictive capability. The study revealed a noteworthy positive
relationship between service quality and customer loyalty, as well as a
significant positive correlation between customer loyalty and customer
retention. However, it was determined that the link between service quality and
customer retention was not statistically significant. Therefore, there is a
need for private healthcare management to focus on service quality to improve
customer loyalty. This means that activities related to the reliability of the
health staff, positive responsiveness of the doctors and other employees in the
health centres, ensuring that the patients are assured of quality service and
equipping the health facility with the right machines that can test and treat
diseases, this will help in improving customer loyalty hence customer retention
among private health care services in Mbarara City.
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