An evaluation of the quality of services provided by the Integrated homeless center of the city of Athens, Greece

The phenomenon of homelessness is a major social issue that concerns modern societies. The present study deals with the issue of homelessness and analyses the level of quality of services received by the guests of the Integrated Homeless Center of the city of Athens through their level of satisfacti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Maria-Aggeliki Stamouli, Andriana Mexa, Sofoklis Chrysanthopoulos, Aspasia Goula
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Social Sciences and Humanities Open
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291125001068
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849423035104231424
author Maria-Aggeliki Stamouli
Andriana Mexa
Sofoklis Chrysanthopoulos
Aspasia Goula
author_facet Maria-Aggeliki Stamouli
Andriana Mexa
Sofoklis Chrysanthopoulos
Aspasia Goula
author_sort Maria-Aggeliki Stamouli
collection DOAJ
description The phenomenon of homelessness is a major social issue that concerns modern societies. The present study deals with the issue of homelessness and analyses the level of quality of services received by the guests of the Integrated Homeless Center of the city of Athens through their level of satisfaction. In order to evaluate the satisfaction of the guests of the Centre, a quantitative survey was conducted with a non-probability convenient sample of 127 homeless people accommodated in the dormitory and the hostel of the center, using the SERVQUAL (Service Quality) questionnaire. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test showed that age was normally distributed, while the quality dimensions and time on street/Center were not, therefore non-parametric tests were used for their analysis. Specifically, the one-sample Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis H tests (along with ANOVA for age) were employed to assess differences in the quality dimensions: a) from one value, b) in two independent groups, c) in more than two groups respectively. Spearman's correlation was used to test linear relationships between quantitative variables. The results of the survey show a high level of beneficiary satisfaction with the full range of services provided, across all five dimensions of quality. Guests with a chronic health problem seem to be less satisfied with the quality of services, while guests with a higher educational level are less satisfied with the facilitation of developing social relationships within the Centre. Τhe extent to which the staff of the Centre facilitates the development of social relationships was not rated positively.
format Article
id doaj-art-0e2de8b970dd4435885b867d8443fd3e
institution Kabale University
issn 2590-2911
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Social Sciences and Humanities Open
spelling doaj-art-0e2de8b970dd4435885b867d8443fd3e2025-08-20T03:30:49ZengElsevierSocial Sciences and Humanities Open2590-29112025-01-011110137910.1016/j.ssaho.2025.101379An evaluation of the quality of services provided by the Integrated homeless center of the city of Athens, GreeceMaria-Aggeliki Stamouli0Andriana Mexa1Sofoklis Chrysanthopoulos2Aspasia Goula3Master of Health and Social Care Management, Department of Business Administration, School of Administrative, Economics and Social Sciences. University of West Attica, 12243, Athens, Greece; Corresponding author.Master of Health and Social Care Management, Department of Business Administration, School of Administrative, Economics and Social Sciences. University of West Attica, 12243, Athens, GreeceHellenic Statistical Authority, 46 Pireos & St. Eponiton St, 18510, Piraeus, GreeceMaster of Health and Social Care Management, Department of Business Administration, School of Administrative, Economics and Social Sciences. University of West Attica, 12243, Athens, GreeceThe phenomenon of homelessness is a major social issue that concerns modern societies. The present study deals with the issue of homelessness and analyses the level of quality of services received by the guests of the Integrated Homeless Center of the city of Athens through their level of satisfaction. In order to evaluate the satisfaction of the guests of the Centre, a quantitative survey was conducted with a non-probability convenient sample of 127 homeless people accommodated in the dormitory and the hostel of the center, using the SERVQUAL (Service Quality) questionnaire. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test showed that age was normally distributed, while the quality dimensions and time on street/Center were not, therefore non-parametric tests were used for their analysis. Specifically, the one-sample Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis H tests (along with ANOVA for age) were employed to assess differences in the quality dimensions: a) from one value, b) in two independent groups, c) in more than two groups respectively. Spearman's correlation was used to test linear relationships between quantitative variables. The results of the survey show a high level of beneficiary satisfaction with the full range of services provided, across all five dimensions of quality. Guests with a chronic health problem seem to be less satisfied with the quality of services, while guests with a higher educational level are less satisfied with the facilitation of developing social relationships within the Centre. Τhe extent to which the staff of the Centre facilitates the development of social relationships was not rated positively.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291125001068HomelessHousing exclusionSocial policyService quality and satisfactionSERVQUALIntegrated homeless center of the city of athens
spellingShingle Maria-Aggeliki Stamouli
Andriana Mexa
Sofoklis Chrysanthopoulos
Aspasia Goula
An evaluation of the quality of services provided by the Integrated homeless center of the city of Athens, Greece
Social Sciences and Humanities Open
Homeless
Housing exclusion
Social policy
Service quality and satisfaction
SERVQUAL
Integrated homeless center of the city of athens
title An evaluation of the quality of services provided by the Integrated homeless center of the city of Athens, Greece
title_full An evaluation of the quality of services provided by the Integrated homeless center of the city of Athens, Greece
title_fullStr An evaluation of the quality of services provided by the Integrated homeless center of the city of Athens, Greece
title_full_unstemmed An evaluation of the quality of services provided by the Integrated homeless center of the city of Athens, Greece
title_short An evaluation of the quality of services provided by the Integrated homeless center of the city of Athens, Greece
title_sort evaluation of the quality of services provided by the integrated homeless center of the city of athens greece
topic Homeless
Housing exclusion
Social policy
Service quality and satisfaction
SERVQUAL
Integrated homeless center of the city of athens
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291125001068
work_keys_str_mv AT mariaaggelikistamouli anevaluationofthequalityofservicesprovidedbytheintegratedhomelesscenterofthecityofathensgreece
AT andrianamexa anevaluationofthequalityofservicesprovidedbytheintegratedhomelesscenterofthecityofathensgreece
AT sofoklischrysanthopoulos anevaluationofthequalityofservicesprovidedbytheintegratedhomelesscenterofthecityofathensgreece
AT aspasiagoula anevaluationofthequalityofservicesprovidedbytheintegratedhomelesscenterofthecityofathensgreece
AT mariaaggelikistamouli evaluationofthequalityofservicesprovidedbytheintegratedhomelesscenterofthecityofathensgreece
AT andrianamexa evaluationofthequalityofservicesprovidedbytheintegratedhomelesscenterofthecityofathensgreece
AT sofoklischrysanthopoulos evaluationofthequalityofservicesprovidedbytheintegratedhomelesscenterofthecityofathensgreece
AT aspasiagoula evaluationofthequalityofservicesprovidedbytheintegratedhomelesscenterofthecityofathensgreece