Open Access
Research
(Published
online: 18-11-2016)
18.
Comparison of veterinary health services
expectations and perceptions between oncologic pet owners, non-oncologic
pet owners and veterinary staff using the SERVQUAL methodology -
Hugo Gregório, Patricia Santos, Isabel Pires, Justina Prada and
Felisbina Luísa Queiroga
Veterinary World, 9(11): 1275-1281
doi:
10.14202/vetworld.2016.1275-1281
Hugo Gregório:
Veterinary Hospital Centre, Rua Manuel Pinto de Azevedo 118,
4100-320 Porto, Portugal; hugogregvet@hotmail.com
Patricia Santos:
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes
and Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal; patriciarebsantosvet@gmail.com
Isabel Pires:
Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), University of
Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal;
ipires@utad.pt
Justina Prada:
Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), University of
Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal;
jprada@utad.pt
Felisbina Luísa Queiroga:
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; fqueirog@utad.pt
Received: 24-06-2016, Accepted: 04-10-2016, Published online:
18-11-2016
Corresponding author:
Felisbina Luísa Queiroga, e-mail: fqueirog@utad.pt
Citation:
Gregório H, Santos P, Pires I, Prada J, Queiroga FL (2016)
Comparison of veterinary health services expectations and
perceptions between oncologic pet owners, non-oncologic pet owners
and veterinary staff using the SERVQUAL methodology,
Veterinary World, 9(11):
1275-1281.
Abstract
Aim:
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.
Materials and 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).
Conclusion:
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.
Keywords:
expectations, oncology, perceptions, SERVQUAL, veterinary.
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