A Multicenter Study of Factors Affecting Patient's Satisfaction Visiting Primary Health Care Clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Patients satisfaction is increasingly being recognized as a central element in monitoring quality of health care services; the assessment of which may offer ways of optimizing health care delivery and preventing waste of medical resources. This study was designed to assess satisfaction and its determinants among patients attending governmental primary health care clinics. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of patients attending two governmental clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data was collected via a self-administered questionnaire and stratified random sampling with equal allocation was adopted to select a significant number of patients of equal gender representation. Results: A total of 200 patients participated in the study, 71% were 21-40 years old with equal gender distribution, 77% were Saudis, 72.5% were satisfied with the services provided. The only factor that had a significant impact on overall satisfaction was the waiting time between registration and consultation, with those waiting over 30 minutes more often reporting to be dissatisfied with the service provided. (p=0.002). Conclusion: Overall, participants were satisfied with the services they received. However, those who had longer waiting time between registration and consultation showed higher rate of dissatisfaction.