Needs Assessment for the Establishment of Master's Degree Programs in Respiratory Care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Jaber S Alqahtani¹, Mohammed D AlAhmari^{1

2}, Hajed M Al-Otaibi³, Saad M AlRabeeah¹, Noor A Al Khathlan⁴, Abdulelah M Aldhahir⁵, Abdullah S Alqahtani¹, Khalid S Alwadeai⁶, Saleh S Algarni^{7

8}, Rayan A Siraj⁹, Abdullah A Alqarni³, Mohammed A Almeshari⁶, Saeed M Alghamdi¹⁰, Mohammed AlTaweel¹¹, Musallam Alnasser¹, Jithin K Sreedharan¹, Abdullah A Almojaibel⁴, Mushabbab Alahmari¹², Yousef S Aldabayan⁹, Bodor H Bin Sheeha¹³, Fahad H Alahmadi¹⁴, Abdullah S Alsulayyim^{5

15}, Eidan M Alzahrani¹⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory Care, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam, 34313, Saudi Arabia.
² Dammam Medical Complex, Dammam Health Network - Eastern Health Cluster, Dammam, 32245, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Respiratory Therapy, Faculty of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Respiratory Care Department, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Dammam, 34212, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Respiratory Therapy Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Rehabilitation Health Sciences Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, 14611, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Hasa, 31982, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Respiratory Care Program, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 24382, Saudi Arabia.
¹¹ Respiratory Care Department, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh, 13713, Saudi Arabia.
¹² Department of Respiratory Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Bisha, Bisha, 67714, Saudi Arabia.
¹³ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, 11564, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁴ Respiratory Therapy Department, College of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, Taibah University, Madinah, 42353, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁵ National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2BX, UK.
¹⁶ Department of Physiotherapy, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam, 34313, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 36171911
PMCID: PMC9512035
DOI: 10.2147/AMEP.S377559

Needs Assessment for the Establishment of Master's Degree Programs in Respiratory Care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Jaber S Alqahtani et al. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2022.

. 2022 Sep 22:13:1113-1121.

doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S377559. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory Care, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam, 34313, Saudi Arabia.
² Dammam Medical Complex, Dammam Health Network - Eastern Health Cluster, Dammam, 32245, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Respiratory Therapy, Faculty of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Respiratory Care Department, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Dammam, 34212, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Respiratory Therapy Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Rehabilitation Health Sciences Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, 14611, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Hasa, 31982, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Respiratory Care Program, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 24382, Saudi Arabia.
¹¹ Respiratory Care Department, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh, 13713, Saudi Arabia.
¹² Department of Respiratory Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Bisha, Bisha, 67714, Saudi Arabia.
¹³ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, 11564, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁴ Respiratory Therapy Department, College of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, Taibah University, Madinah, 42353, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁵ National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2BX, UK.
¹⁶ Department of Physiotherapy, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam, 34313, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 36171911
PMCID: PMC9512035
DOI: 10.2147/AMEP.S377559

Abstract

Background: Despite recent advancements in the respiratory care (RC) profession, no single institution in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) offers a master's degree program in RC.

Methods: A nationwide and validated survey was used to explore the current needs and interests in establishing RC master's degree programs in the KSA. The process included representatives from the healthcare industry, universities, and professional societies.

Results: A total of 1250 stakeholders across the KSA completed the survey. The sample includes 722 (58%) males, 504 (40%) respiratory therapists, 547 (44%) students, 138 (11%) leaders, and 61 (5%) were academic respondents. Most respondents were from Central 491 (39%) and Eastern 307 (25%) regions, with 1003 (80%) of the total sample worked or studied in governmental sectors. A total of 574 (82%) of the leaders and RTs had Bachelor degree and 430 (61%) of them had 1-5 years working experience. According to 80% of the employers and employees, only 0-5% of the RTs in their organization had a master's degree. The calculated mean % of the agreement (agree/strongly agree) on the needs was 83% in all needs' assessment items, which shows a great support for establishing a master's in RC to meet the personal, professional and society needs. The mean % of the agreement for the level of interests among all participants was 86%, indicating a great level of interests in establishing a master degree in RC. The agreement % on the needs assessment and level of interests in establishing a master degree in RC in KSA were ≥80% in each stakeholder group.

Conclusion: There are obvious needs and interests in establishing master's degree programs in RC in the KSA. A master's degree in RC should be established to address the growing needs for advanced RC services throughout the nation and enhance RC research.

Keywords: NCAAA; Saudi Arabia; accreditation; education; master degree; respiratory care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Needs assessment and stakeholders’ level of interests for establishing a master degree in RC in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Each bar represents the overall agreement (%) for each stakeholder group.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Needs Assessment for the Establishment of Master's Degree Programs in Respiratory Care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Affiliations

Needs Assessment for the Establishment of Master's Degree Programs in Respiratory Care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources