Almosa Nada M, Alonazi Wadi
Risk Management, King Saud University, Riyadh, SAU.
Health Adminstration, King Saud University, Riyadh, SAU.
Cureus. 2025 Feb 9;17(2):e78756. doi: 10.7759/cureus.78756. eCollection 2025 Feb.
To address healthcare challenges in Saudi Arabia, such as quality, efficiency, and increasing healthcare demands, the healthcare sector is undergoing significant transformation under the Healthcare Transformation Program in both public and private sectors, aligned with Vision 2030 for the country. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the preference of patients between public and private hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Primary data was collected using a 38-item self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic data and patient perceptions of services, efficiency, cost, and hospital selection. The data was collected using convenience sampling from 600 participants living in Riyadh who have attended public or private hospitals. Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha (α=0.869), demonstrating strong internal consistency. Item-total correlations across domains were statistically significant (p<0.01), supporting validity. Statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics and an independent sample t-test, were performed.
The majority of participants were Saudi nationals (577, 96.2%) and female (399, 66.5%). Participants' ages ranged from 20 to 40 years. More than half of the respondents (303, 50.5%) held a bachelor's degree, while 40.2% reported a monthly family income of 10,000-20,000 SR. Hospital selection (3.79±0.65) was the strongest factor influencing patient preferences. Services provided (2.68±0.65) and efficiency (3.06±0.67) received neutral responses, while the cost of treatment (2.56±0.66) was not a significant factor. Education significantly influenced preferences, with highly educated patients favoring private hospitals. Also, non-Saudi patients valued private hospitals for better cost-effectiveness and services.
Private hospitals are perceived as superior by people living in Riyadh compared to public hospitals when it comes to service level and efficiency. Respondents did not feel that the indirect costs of using public hospitals were significant. It shows the lower cost of public hospitals remains an important attraction that encourages users to rely on public hospitals. Nevertheless, respondents justify the higher cost of private hospitals because of the superior service level. Availability of modern equipment in the hospital, the reputation of doctors employed by the hospitals, overall appearance and outlay of the hospital facilities, hygiene, and location are also important factors that influence their choice of the hospital.
为应对沙特阿拉伯的医疗保健挑战，如质量、效率以及不断增长的医疗需求，该国医疗保健部门正在公共和私营部门的医疗保健转型计划下经历重大变革，这与沙特阿拉伯的《2030年愿景》保持一致。本研究的目的是调查影响沙特阿拉伯利雅得患者在公立医院和私立医院之间偏好的因素。
这是一项描述性横断面研究。使用一份包含38个条目的自填式问卷收集原始数据。问卷包括人口统计学数据以及患者对服务、效率、成本和医院选择的看法。通过便利抽样从600名居住在利雅得且曾就诊于公立医院或私立医院的参与者中收集数据。使用克朗巴哈系数（α=0.869）评估信度，结果显示内部一致性很强。各领域的项目与总分相关性具有统计学意义（p<0.01），支持效度。进行了包括描述性统计和独立样本t检验在内的统计分析。
大多数参与者为沙特公民（577人，占96.2%），女性居多（399人，占66.5%）。参与者年龄在20至40岁之间。超过一半的受访者（303人，占50.5%）拥有本科学历，40.2%的受访者报告家庭月收入为10,000 - 20,000沙特里亚尔。医院选择（3.79±0.65）是影响患者偏好的最强因素。所提供的服务（2.68±0.65）和效率（3.06±0.67）得到中性评价，而治疗费用（2.56±0.66）并非显著因素。教育程度对偏好有显著影响，受过高等教育的患者更倾向于私立医院。此外，非沙特患者认为私立医院在成本效益和服务方面更具优势。
在利雅得居民看来，私立医院在服务水平和效率方面优于公立医院。受访者并不认为使用公立医院的间接成本很高。这表明公立医院较低的成本仍然是吸引用户选择公立医院的一个重要因素。然而，受访者认为私立医院成本较高是因其服务水平更优。医院现代设备的可用性、医院聘用医生的声誉、医院设施的整体外观和费用、卫生状况以及地理位置也是影响他们选择医院的重要因素。
