To measure the gap between expectations of patients with cancer for oncology services and their perceptions of the actual service and to identify associated factors at the oncology centre of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia.

An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was conducted using the service quality (SERVQUAL) tool from March to April 2022 on a sample of 256 hospitalised patients with cancer at the oncology centre of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital. A paired Wilcoxon test and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to determine the statistically significant difference between expectation and perception and to quantify the strength of association between the level of gap in the quality of oncology service and dependent variables, respectively.

Out of 256 patients with cancer included in the study, all of them agreed and participated, making the response rate 100%. The overall gap in service quality explained by the mean and SD is –1.42 (±0.41). The overall score for expectation and perception is 4.24 (±0.31) and 2.82 (±0.37), respectively. Being female, age greater than 65, having a college degree and above, being a patient with cervical cancer, patients with stage 4 cancer and patients who waited for more than 12 months for radiotherapy were found to have a statistically significant higher expectation compared with their perceived care in one or more dimensions of the SERVQUAL tool.

Patient perceptions of the quality of service they received were lower than their expectations of the quality of service in all service quality aspects at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital’s oncology centre, implying unmet quality expectations from the oncology service users, with tangibility, assurance and empathy being the dimensions with the highest gap recorded, respectively. Therefore, the hospital and other stakeholders should strive to exceed patient expectations and the overall quality of care.