Satisfaction of Department of Disease Control Officers with The Temporary Official Travel Abroad Process by The Office of International Cooperation

Abstract

Background: Official overseas missions among government personnel, particularly in the public health sector, play a crucial role in enhancing professional knowledge, exchanging experiences, and fostering international collaboration. The Office of International Cooperation is responsible for coordinating and managing temporary overseas missions in accordance with the Public Sector Management Quality Award (PMQA) criteria, Category 3, which emphasizes a stakeholder-centered approach. This study aimed to assess satisfaction with the management process of official overseas missions and to utilize the findings to systematically enhance the efficiency and quality of service delivery.

Methods: A Cross-sectional analytic study was conducted among 166 respondents, comprising (1) 36 officers responsible for personnel approval for overseas missions, (2) 13 officers managing budgetary project proposals, and (3) 117 officials who participated in overseas missions. Respondents were selected through non-probability and purposive sampling techniques. The research instrument consisted of three sets of structured questionnaires, covering three domains: (1) Process and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), (2) Service Personnel, and (3) Service Facilitation and Communication Channels. Each questionnaire also included open-ended items for additional comments. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, including F-test, One-Way ANOVA, and Scheffé’s post-hoc test.

Results: Of the respondents, 42.86% were aged 31–40 years, followed by 29.76% aged 51–60 years. The majority were professional staff (73.81%), with 26.19% serving in supporting positions. Overall satisfaction with the management process was rated at a high level across all respondent groups. Among the three groups, the budgetary project management group reported the highest level of satisfaction (𝑥̅ = 4.62, S.D. = 0.51), followed by the personnel approval group (𝑥̅ = 4.37, S.D. = 0.76), and the overseas mission participants (𝑥̅ = 4.15, S.D. = 0.67). When analyzed by domain, service personnel received the highest satisfaction scores in all groups (𝑥̅ = 4.57, S.D. = 0.51; 𝑥̅ = 4.81, S.D. = 0.32; 𝑥̅ = 4.04, S.D. = 0.83), reflecting the staff’s professionalism, courtesy, and competency in providing accurate and appropriate guidance. The service facilitation domain received moderately high satisfaction (𝑥̅ = 3.97–4.52), while the process/SOP domain obtained comparatively lower scores (𝑥̅ = 3.99–4.50), particularly in the aspect of procedural timeliness, which was influenced by multi-layered approval processes.

Conclusion: Service users from all groups reported a high level of satisfaction, particularly regarding the service personnel, reflecting their professional competence and identifying this as a key strength of the management process. Areas for further improvement include the timeliness of the approval process, the clarity of operational procedures, and accessibility to service tools. Enhancing these aspects will increase the efficiency and convenience of service delivery.