Development of guidelines for submitting examinations and reporting analytical results for medical laboratories in the Lam Thap District Health Service Network. Krabi Province

Abstract

This research is an action research study comprising four stages: (1) planning, (2) action, (3) observation, and (4) reflection. The research design is a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design. The objective was to study the effects of developing a protocol for laboratory test requests and result reporting within the health service network in Lam Thap District, Krabi Province. The sample group consisted of 40 medical and public health personnel from the Lam Thap health service network, selected through random sampling based on the Krejcie and Morgan formula. The research instruments included (1) a questionnaire and (2) a satisfaction survey among personnel in the Lam Thap health service network. The reliability coefficients (Cronbach's alpha) of the instruments were 0.90 and 0.95, respectively.

The research findings, following the implementation of the protocol, revealed the following: 1) The overall level of agreement regarding the protocol's implementation was high, with a mean score of 4.03 (SD = 0.72). 2) The overall satisfaction with the implemented protocol was at the highest level, with a mean score of 4.27 (SD = 0.72). 3) The performance outcomes of the protocol in terms of accuracy, timeliness, and safety showed increased mean scores of 0.73, 0.62, and 1.00 points, respectively (p = 0.001). 4) Satisfaction with performance in terms of accuracy, timeliness, and safety also showed increased mean scores of 1.00, 2.10, and 0.90 points, respectively (p = 0.001).