A Quantitative Longitudinal Study With Moderation Analyses: The Relationship of U.S. Hospitals’ Patient Experience, Types, and Financial Performance

Abstract

The purpose of the quantitative longitudinal study discussed in this case was to examine the direct effects of patient experience (independent variable) on hospital financial performance (dependent variable) and the moderating effects of hospital type (moderating variable) on the relationship between patient experience and hospital financial performance. The two-level analyses facilitated a robust investigation into the relationships of the three study variables. As a practitioner-scholar personally connected to the research topic, I designed this longitudinal national study to find relevant, impactful, and practical evidence that would inform positive changes in patient-care policies and management practices. This research design resulted in panel data, enabling me to construct and test complex hypotheses, and derive rich and thick descriptions of the study phenomenon. Overall, the research study was effective, because study results fulfilled the research purpose and answered the research questions. Analyzing the intersection of the three study variables also helped fill an empirical gap. Applying the longitudinal design instead of a cross-sectional design allowed me to gain an understanding of the study phenomenon over a period of time rather than through a snapshot view. My research purpose also called for a design that included a moderating variable, because the study phenomenon was more complex than a relationship between independent and dependent variables could depict. The moderation analyses allowed me to see the changes in the strength of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables when the moderating variable interacted with this relationship.

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