Background The Saudi Ministry of Health makes continual efforts to provide high-quality preventiv... more Background The Saudi Ministry of Health makes continual efforts to provide high-quality preventive services through a large network of primary health care (PHC) centers. Patient satisfaction is integral to measuring health outcomes and the quality of these services. Methods We searched the Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases for studies investigating patient satisfaction with PHC services in Saudi Arabia in the past 10 years. The risk of bias and heterogeneity across the included studies were assessed with Newcastle Ottawa scale and I2 test, respectively. Review Manger version 5.311 was used for data analysis with the random effect model. The quality of evidence of each outcome was measured with the GRADE approach. Results The review included 3302 Saudi residents from six observational studies conducted in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Most studies included in the review had low risk of bias regarding the studied domains. The review indicated moderate overall satisfa...
Background Patient waiting time can adversely affect health services utilization and continuity o... more Background Patient waiting time can adversely affect health services utilization and continuity of care, impacting patient satisfaction. In Saudi Arabia, there is limited information about the average waiting time at primary healthcare centers. Therefore, this study quantifies patient waiting time for services offered in Ministry of Health primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study utilizing secondary data from the Health Information System at primary healthcare centers in Riyadh was conducted in December 2020. Ten primary healthcare centers were selected. All patients visiting the selected centers during the study period were included, except those who needed emergency care or came for services without seeing the physician. Data regarding patient waiting time in minutes for different stages of primary healthcare services were collected. Results The median total waiting time was 23 min. The median waiting time for pre-consultation and c...
Previous studies investigated the frequency of different adverse events of COVID-19 vaccines. How... more Previous studies investigated the frequency of different adverse events of COVID-19 vaccines. However, this study compares these adverse events between the two main COVID-19 vaccines used in Saudi Arabia (Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca) using telemedicine technology. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 958 individuals, 7 days after receiving either Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines during June 2021. Immediate adverse events were reported by 1.04% and 2.09% for Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, respectively, with no serious events. Recipients of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had a higher percentage of local adverse events (24.8% versus 9.8% in AstraZeneca vaccine). The most common reported systemic adverse events in both vaccines respectively were general fatigue (23.1% and 25.1%), fever (18.5% and 27.2%), myalgia (20.6% and 20.3%), and headache (15.2% and 17.2%). No significant difference was recorded between both vaccines regarding overall syst...
Objectives: Vaccine acceptance varies across countries, generations, and the perceived personalit... more Objectives: Vaccine acceptance varies across countries, generations, and the perceived personality of individuals. Investigating the knowledge, beliefs, and acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines among individuals is vital to ensuring adequate health system capacity and procedures and promoting the uptake of the vaccines.Methods: A cross-section study was conducted in 2021 to determine COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among Saudi residents using a new Vaccine Acceptability Questionnaire (VAQ). The VAQ contains 31 questions under three broad items: knowledge, beliefs, and underlying factors for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.Results: The study included 281 residents to estimate their acceptance to receive COVID-19 vaccination. Around 70% of the included participants had a moderate to high COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate during the data collection period. The risk increases to about two folds among undergraduates [OR=1.846 (1.034-3.296), p-value=0.036)] and increases to four folds among non-empl...
Background Printed health education (HE) materials are commonly provided in primary health care (... more Background Printed health education (HE) materials are commonly provided in primary health care (PHC). However, little is known about their use by PHC visitors. Aim This study explored patients’ opinions and use of printed HE materials in order to determine an ideal output format for HE. Design & setting This was a cross-sectional study, which was conducted in three PHC centres at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Method Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Results Fifty-five point two per cent of participants obtained printed HE materials from PHC waiting areas. The majority read one or more materials and found it helpful and memorable. Seventy-seven point two per cent applied the written message, 24.0% of participants regularly read HE materials, and more than half spent time reading them in the PHC centre’s waiting area. Around half (51.1%) put the material back in its place after reading it. The preferred format was card with text and...
Background The Saudi Ministry of Health makes continual efforts to provide high-quality preventiv... more Background The Saudi Ministry of Health makes continual efforts to provide high-quality preventive services through a large network of primary health care (PHC) centers. Patient satisfaction is integral to measuring health outcomes and the quality of these services. Methods We searched the Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases for studies investigating patient satisfaction with PHC services in Saudi Arabia in the past 10 years. The risk of bias and heterogeneity across the included studies were assessed with Newcastle Ottawa scale and I2 test, respectively. Review Manger version 5.311 was used for data analysis with the random effect model. The quality of evidence of each outcome was measured with the GRADE approach. Results The review included 3302 Saudi residents from six observational studies conducted in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Most studies included in the review had low risk of bias regarding the studied domains. The review indicated moderate overall satisfa...
Background Patient waiting time can adversely affect health services utilization and continuity o... more Background Patient waiting time can adversely affect health services utilization and continuity of care, impacting patient satisfaction. In Saudi Arabia, there is limited information about the average waiting time at primary healthcare centers. Therefore, this study quantifies patient waiting time for services offered in Ministry of Health primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study utilizing secondary data from the Health Information System at primary healthcare centers in Riyadh was conducted in December 2020. Ten primary healthcare centers were selected. All patients visiting the selected centers during the study period were included, except those who needed emergency care or came for services without seeing the physician. Data regarding patient waiting time in minutes for different stages of primary healthcare services were collected. Results The median total waiting time was 23 min. The median waiting time for pre-consultation and c...
Previous studies investigated the frequency of different adverse events of COVID-19 vaccines. How... more Previous studies investigated the frequency of different adverse events of COVID-19 vaccines. However, this study compares these adverse events between the two main COVID-19 vaccines used in Saudi Arabia (Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca) using telemedicine technology. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 958 individuals, 7 days after receiving either Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines during June 2021. Immediate adverse events were reported by 1.04% and 2.09% for Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, respectively, with no serious events. Recipients of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had a higher percentage of local adverse events (24.8% versus 9.8% in AstraZeneca vaccine). The most common reported systemic adverse events in both vaccines respectively were general fatigue (23.1% and 25.1%), fever (18.5% and 27.2%), myalgia (20.6% and 20.3%), and headache (15.2% and 17.2%). No significant difference was recorded between both vaccines regarding overall syst...
Objectives: Vaccine acceptance varies across countries, generations, and the perceived personalit... more Objectives: Vaccine acceptance varies across countries, generations, and the perceived personality of individuals. Investigating the knowledge, beliefs, and acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines among individuals is vital to ensuring adequate health system capacity and procedures and promoting the uptake of the vaccines.Methods: A cross-section study was conducted in 2021 to determine COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among Saudi residents using a new Vaccine Acceptability Questionnaire (VAQ). The VAQ contains 31 questions under three broad items: knowledge, beliefs, and underlying factors for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.Results: The study included 281 residents to estimate their acceptance to receive COVID-19 vaccination. Around 70% of the included participants had a moderate to high COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate during the data collection period. The risk increases to about two folds among undergraduates [OR=1.846 (1.034-3.296), p-value=0.036)] and increases to four folds among non-empl...
Background Printed health education (HE) materials are commonly provided in primary health care (... more Background Printed health education (HE) materials are commonly provided in primary health care (PHC). However, little is known about their use by PHC visitors. Aim This study explored patients’ opinions and use of printed HE materials in order to determine an ideal output format for HE. Design & setting This was a cross-sectional study, which was conducted in three PHC centres at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Method Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Results Fifty-five point two per cent of participants obtained printed HE materials from PHC waiting areas. The majority read one or more materials and found it helpful and memorable. Seventy-seven point two per cent applied the written message, 24.0% of participants regularly read HE materials, and more than half spent time reading them in the PHC centre’s waiting area. Around half (51.1%) put the material back in its place after reading it. The preferred format was card with text and...
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