Satisfaction in population-based cancer screening in a Chinese rural high-risk population: the Yangzhong early diagnosis and treatment of upper gastrointestinal cancer

BACKGROUND: Screening for upper gastrointestinal cancer (UGC) effectively reduces morbidity and mortality in gastric and esophageal cancers. It is considered one of the effective measures for cancer control in China, but studies on its functional quality are lacking. Our study assessed the quality of screening service funded by Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Early diagnosis and treatment (UGCEDAT) and its correlation in Yangzhong People’s hospital, China. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 516 screening users at a screening centre in Yanghzong People’s hospital from April to July 2021. The service quality questionnaire (SERVQUAL) based on the service quality gap (SQG) model was adopted. We calculated the mean scores of perceptions and expectations and their gap. To determine the association between overall SQG and related features of participants, we used a multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: The average scores of screening service users’ perceptions and expectations were 4.05 and 4.55, respectively. The SQG of five dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy) were negative, and the overall SQG was -0.51. The responsiveness dimension had the largest gap, and tangibles had the smallest gap. Occupation status (AOR: 0.57; CI: 0.37–0.89), health self-assessment (AOR: 4.97; CI: 1.35–18.23), endoscopy experience (AOR: 0.55; CI: 0.38–0.81), distance from screening hospital (AOR: 1.85; CI: 1.25–2.73) and frequency of visit (AOR: 1.65; CI: 1.10–2.46) were associated with the overall SQG. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a negative gap between perceptions and expectations of the function quality of screening service, implying a high dissatisfaction across different dimensions. Service providers should take adequate measures to bridge the dimension with the largest quality gap. Meanwhile, attention should be paid to identifying the influencing factors of the overall SQG and the characteristics of dimensional expectations and perceptions to improve the effectiveness of the screening program. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-08076-1.