Aljohani Motab, Donnelly Michael, Al Sumaih Ibrahim, O'Neill Ciaran
Centre for Public Health, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.
Public Health Department, College of Health Science, Saudi Electronic, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 Nov 6;10:1252340. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1252340. eCollection 2023.
There is a dearth of research on the nature and extent of variation in patterns of health service use in Saudi Arabia. This is an important gap in knowledge, given ongoing efforts to improve service provision and delivery. This study examined the relationship between the region of residence and socio-demographic factors and patterns of health service use in Saudi Arabia.
Data were taken from the 2013 Saudi Health Interview Survey (SHIS), a national multistage survey of individuals aged 15 years and above in Saudi Arabia. Data included measures of service use, respondent health, socio-demographic characteristics, and region or area of residence. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to describe the data and examine the likelihood of a respondent visiting a doctor or healthcare professional in the preceding 12 months. In addition, the analyses examined the role of health and socio-demographic characteristics within selected regions.
The increased likelihood of using health services in terms of visiting a doctor or healthcare professional was related to poor health status, being female, married, having a low income, and residing in particular regions. Respondents aged <65 and who lived furthest from service providers were less likely to visit a doctor or other health professionals ( < 0.01). Residents who lived in Riyadh, Al Medina, Baha, or Aseer demonstrated a higher likelihood of service utilization compared to respondents residing in other regions ( < 0.05). In sub-group analyses, there was variation between regions with respect to socio-demographic status and distance to service.
Region of residence and income level, in particular, may help to explain the likelihood of primary care use in Saudi Arabia and the distinct patterns of service use in relation to regional and socio-demographic characteristics. The relationship between regional variation in service utilization and the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents may reflect differences with respect to population need, enabling, and predisposing factors as represented in Anderson's Behavioral Model (ABM) of health service use. The findings from this study underscore the importance of considering region or area of residence when seeking to understand the utilization of health services, particularly primary care services.
沙特阿拉伯关于卫生服务利用模式的性质和差异程度的研究匮乏。鉴于当前在改善服务提供方面所做的努力，这是一个重要的知识空白。本研究考察了沙特阿拉伯居住地区与社会人口因素以及卫生服务利用模式之间的关系。
数据取自2013年沙特健康访谈调查（SHIS），这是一项针对沙特阿拉伯15岁及以上人群的全国性多阶段调查。数据包括服务利用情况、受访者健康状况、社会人口特征以及居住地区或区域的测量指标。使用描述性统计、卡方检验和多变量逻辑回归分析来描述数据，并考察受访者在过去12个月内看医生或医疗保健专业人员的可能性。此外，分析还考察了选定区域内健康和社会人口特征的作用。
就看医生或医疗保健专业人员而言，使用卫生服务可能性的增加与健康状况不佳、女性、已婚、低收入以及居住在特定地区有关。年龄小于65岁且居住距离服务提供者最远的受访者看医生或其他卫生专业人员的可能性较小（<0.01）。与居住在其他地区的受访者相比，居住在利雅得、麦地那、巴哈或阿西尔的居民服务利用可能性更高（<0.05）。在亚组分析中，不同区域在社会人口状况和距离服务的远近方面存在差异。
特别是居住地区和收入水平，可能有助于解释沙特阿拉伯初级保健利用的可能性以及与区域和社会人口特征相关的不同服务利用模式。服务利用的区域差异与受访者社会人口特征之间的关系可能反映了在安德森卫生服务利用行为模型（ABM）中所体现的人口需求、促成因素和易患因素方面的差异。本研究结果强调了在试图理解卫生服务利用，尤其是初级保健服务利用时考虑居住地区或区域的重要性。
