title: Comparison of veterinary health services expectations and perceptions between oncologic pet owners, non-oncologic pet owners and veterinary staff using the SERVQUAL methodology.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Client satisfaction gained great importance in health care as a measurement of service quality. One of the most popular methods to evaluate client satisfaction is the SERVQUAL inquiry which measures service quality by evaluating client expectations and services towards a service in five dimensions: Tangibles, Empathy, Assurance, Reliability and Responsiveness.
  
  
  METHODS
  In order to evaluate if owners of pets with cancer constitute a distinctive group from the general pet owner population and if these differences were perceived by the hospital staff we applied a SERVQUAL questionnaire to 51 owners of pet with cancer, 68 owners from the general pet population and 14 staff members.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Owners of oncologic pets had different expectations of an ideal service granting importance to Assurance questions (6.75 vs 6.5, p= 0.045) while showing unmet needs in Reliability and Empathy dimensions. Veterinarians failed to understand these specificities and over evaluated characteristics of Tangible dimension (6.75 vs 6.25, p=0.027).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Owners of pet with cancer seem to constitute a specific subpopulation with special needs and veterinary staff should invest resources towards Assurance instead of privileging tangible aspects of veterinary services. By aligning professionals expectations with those of pet owners veterinarians can achieve better client satisfaction, improved compliance and stronger doctor-owner relationships.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Hospital Centre, Rua Manuel Pinto de Azevedo 118, 4100-320 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gregório
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.affiliation: Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: Justina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prada
authors.affiliation: Center for Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological Sciences (CITAB), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: Felisbina Luísa
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Queiroga
keywords: SERVQUAL; expectations; oncology; perceptions; veterinary