Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
First Health Cluster in Eastern Province, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
J Prim Care Community Health. 2021 Jan-Dec;12:21501327211014065. doi: 10.1177/21501327211014065.
Primary care plays an integral role in modern healthcare systems. More so in a country that is currently undergoing a reform of its health system. Their remains barriers that hinder patients from seeking medical assistance from primary physicians. This study aims to examine the overall satisfaction of patients toward Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in Saudi Arabia, as well as its association with potential barriers from a sample of patients who presented at the emergency department (ED) for non-urgent cases.
This cross-sectional study sampled 403 patients from King Fahd Hospital of the University. A piloted questionnaire was utilized that included questions on sociodemographics, satisfaction of PHCs, as well as organizational, socioeconomic, access, and patient-doctor relationship barriers using a Likert-scale item response. Chi-squared and Fisher's Exact tests were used to compare categorical variables, and multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between overall satisfaction and all factors and barriers.
The sample consisted of 48.1% males and 51.9% females. Only 5.2% of the patients were hospitalized. Of the total sample, 28.3% reported being always satisfied with PHC services. The most reported barriers were organizational barriers and socioeconomic barriers. The regression analysis found that being a female, highly educated, have high organizational, and patient-doctor relationship were independent predictors for low overall satisfaction with PHCs.
Findings from this study should allow healthcare planners and policy makers to reduce the impact of these barriers by finding solutions that would target them. This may include strictly implementing policies such as proper implementing of triaging in EDs as well as promoting services that are being provided free of charge at these centers.
初级保健在现代医疗保健系统中起着不可或缺的作用。在一个目前正在进行医疗体系改革的国家更是如此。患者在寻求初级医师的医疗帮助时仍然存在障碍。本研究旨在调查沙特阿拉伯患者对初级保健中心（PHC）的总体满意度，以及在非紧急情况下在急诊室就诊的患者样本中，其与潜在障碍的关联。
这项横断面研究从法赫德国王大学医院抽取了 403 名患者。使用了经过验证的问卷，其中包括社会人口统计学、PHC 满意度以及使用李克特量表项目反应的组织、社会经济、获取途径和医患关系障碍问题。卡方检验和 Fisher 精确检验用于比较分类变量，多变量逻辑回归用于评估总体满意度与所有因素和障碍之间的关联。
样本包括 48.1%的男性和 51.9%的女性。只有 5.2%的患者住院。在总样本中，28.3%的患者报告始终对 PHC 服务满意。报告的最常见障碍是组织障碍和社会经济障碍。回归分析发现，女性、受过高等教育、具有较高的组织和医患关系是对 PHC 总体满意度较低的独立预测因素。
本研究的结果应使医疗保健规划者和政策制定者能够通过寻找针对这些障碍的解决方案来减少这些障碍的影响。这可能包括严格执行政策，如在急诊室正确实施分诊，以及推广这些中心免费提供的服务。
