Dimensions of Quality in Healthcare: Perceptions of Patients from Saudi Public Hospitals

Abstract

Healthcare quality is driven by multiple dimensions. The present study aimed to examine the main dimensions of healthcare quality from the perspective of patients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia public (KSA) hospitals. A patient satisfaction survey was designed to discover the perceived dimensions of quality in the KSA healthcare sector. The steps involved in identifying the quality dimensions relating to healthcare are presented in the paper. The principal component analysis (PCA) lead to identifying the components with total variance explained and result in identifying three meta dimensions. This included wellness support, compliance with Standard, and exceptional service and immediate care. The research findings have provided a platform for emerging and discovering patient needs, direct improvement efforts in such a critical service sector and can be used as a basis for developing new measures to discover patients’ needs.