Volume 27, Issue 135, May 2023

Patient's expectations of emergency department care in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Nasser Almulhim¹, Hatun F Al-Rajeh², Reema M Al Dera², Dana H Almuhaimeed², Sara A Alharbi², Noora A Juaythin²

¹Emergency Medicine Consultant at King Fahad hospital Hafouf, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
²College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Patients of all categories come to the emergency room (ER) expecting the best treatment in the fastest amount of time. Nowadays emergency departments (EDs) no longer deal only with life saving patients. They are now the first point of contact for patients, not in the event of a catastrophe only. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate patients’ expectations of emergency department care in Saudi Arabia and to explore emergency department patient expectations regarding staff communication with patients, wait times, the triage process and information management. Method: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among patients who visited EDs between March 2022 and May 2022 in Saudi Arabia. A self-administrated electronic questionnaire was distributed among the targeted patients. The questionnaire includes socio-demographic characteristics (i.e., age, gender, education, etc.) and perceptions toward emergency departments. Results: 1866 patients met the inclusion criteria (54.6% females vs. 45.4% males). 38.7% were aged between 18 and 25 years. Almost 90% believed it is important or very important to have information about ER functions. In a multivariate regression model, having a bachelor's or higher degree, living in the western part of Saudi Arabia, knowing that some patients can be admitted to the ER before others and knowing that it is fair were the independent significant predictors of giving high importance to having information about ER functions. Conclusion: Patients with better education and perception of EDs are more likely to care about emergency department functions.

Keywords: Emergency department, expectation, satisfaction, Saudi Arabia

Medical Science, 2023, 27, e201ms2923

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v27i135/e201ms2923

Published: 02 May 2023