Alissa Nawal A
Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 10219, 11433, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 19;15(1):9497. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-93392-9.
Many researchers have attempted to investigate the relationship between individuals and healthcare utilization; however, there is a lack of adequate studies examining the factors influencing healthcare-seeking behavior among Saudi Arabian women. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the barriers that influence healthcare-seeking behavior among Saudi women in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 511 Saudi women during October and November of 2022. Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Participants completed self-administered online surveys regarding their demographic characteristics, healthcare-seeking behavior, and barriers to seeking healthcare. To analyze the relationship between healthcare-seeking behavior, barriers to healthcare, and independent variables, data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 with descriptive statistics and correlation. The majority of participants were aged 31-40 years. Analysis of the responses to the Barriers to Seeking Healthcare Scale revealed an overall mean score of 14.37 out of 20 (SD = 2.3), indicating that barriers to seeking healthcare significantly impacted the participants. Key findings revealed a statistically significant relationship between occupation (specifically full-time workers) and barriers to seeking healthcare (p = 0.003), suggesting that full-time female workers perceive more barriers to healthcare access. Most participants identified the lack of available appointments and difficulty obtaining required healthcare as significant barriers. Understanding Saudi women's healthcare-seeking behavior and its determinants is crucial for identifying these barriers and improving women's health outcomes. This study confirms the various challenges Saudi women face in seeking healthcare. The conclusion proposes new research directions and strategies to address these challenges. It is important to emphasize that further research is needed to capture the broader cultural and social factors at play. A comprehensive policy intervention is recommended, focusing on recognizing and addressing women's healthcare needs in light of current efforts to reduce these barriers.
许多研究人员试图调查个体与医疗保健利用之间的关系；然而，缺乏足够的研究来考察影响沙特女性就医行为的因素。因此，本研究旨在探讨影响沙特阿拉伯利雅得市沙特女性就医行为的障碍。这项横断面研究于2022年10月至11月对511名沙特女性进行。获得了沙特阿拉伯国王沙特大学研究伦理委员会的伦理批准。参与者完成了关于其人口统计学特征、就医行为以及就医障碍的自填式在线调查。为了分析就医行为、就医障碍和自变量之间的关系，使用SPSS 23版对数据进行了描述性统计和相关性分析。大多数参与者年龄在31至40岁之间。对就医障碍量表的回答分析显示，总体平均得分为20分中的14.37分（标准差=2.3），表明就医障碍对参与者有显著影响。主要研究结果显示，职业（特别是全职工作者）与就医障碍之间存在统计学上的显著关系（p=0.003），这表明全职女性工作者认为就医障碍更多。大多数参与者认为缺乏可用预约和难以获得所需医疗保健是重大障碍。了解沙特女性的就医行为及其决定因素对于识别这些障碍和改善女性健康结果至关重要。本研究证实了沙特女性在就医方面面临的各种挑战。结论提出了应对这些挑战的新研究方向和策略。需要强调的是，需要进一步研究以捕捉更广泛的文化和社会因素。建议进行全面的政策干预，重点是根据当前减少这些障碍的努力，认识并满足女性的医疗保健需求。
