The State of Healthcare Service Delivery in Saudi Arabia: Public Perceptions
Keywords:
Saudi Arabia Healthcare; Quality; Access; Affordability; Responsiveness.Abstract
Objective: The understanding of the public’s perceptions concerning health services provides valuable insights for health system improvements. Thus, this study aims to examine the public perceptions of the state of the healthcare service delivery in KSA concerning healthcare quality, affordability, availability/ access, and responsiveness.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. Between July 2019 and March 2020, an online self-administrated questionnaire was distributed using convenience sampling. Data was collected from 1,232 respondents and were then analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
Results: The study found that the public generally possessed positive perceptions towards quality, accessibility. The overall agreement on most of the healthcare statements related to quality, accessibility, and satisfaction was greater than 50%, whereby the overall agreement was significantly low for responsiveness and varied for the affordability factor. In reference to responsiveness, the results show that more than 60% of the participants agreed that doctors act do not spend plenty of time with them. For the healthcare service affordability factor, 30% of the respondents were uncertain if they can get medical care without being set back financially.
Conclusion: Although Saudi Arabia offers free of charge health services to the public, shortcomings related to healthcare affordability are a concern and should be a priority on the country’s agenda as they move towards privatization. Also, to strengthen the healthcare system, attention should focus on healthcare system responsiveness.
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