Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jan 25;12(3):315.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare12030315.

Healthcare Quality from the Perspective of Patients in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Systematic Literature Review

Nizar Alsubahi  1   2 , Milena Pavlova  1 , Ahmed Ali Alzahrani  1   2 , Ala'eddin Ahmad  3 , Wim Groot  1
Affiliations
Review

Healthcare Quality from the Perspective of Patients in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Systematic Literature Review

Nizar Alsubahi et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

With the increased focus on patient-centered care, consensus on healthcare outcomes of importance to patients becomes crucial. Based on a systematic review of the literature, this study confirms the perspectives of patients on healthcare quality in GCC countries. Online databases were searched for relevant peer-reviewed articles published from 2012 to 2023. Twenty-two articles retrieved from the search were qualitatively analyzed based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Most articles (90%) reported studies conducted in Saudi Arabia. Patients in GCC countries face common problems in the care delivery process, which contribute to negative perceptions of quality. These problems include diagnostic and medication errors, provider-patient communication problems, missed appointments with physicians, problems in emergency care access due to geographical distance and transportation barriers, long waiting times, and physical environments. Notably, healthcare quality is perceived to be an outcome of multiple factors dependent on the location and category of healthcare service providers; for instance, disparities in perceptions of quality were observed between patients attending Primary Health Care (PHC) centers in rural and urban areas. Issues such as lack of equitable healthcare delivery and deficiencies in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) effectiveness were disparately recognized as quality concerns by different patient populations. The findings provide insights into healthcare quality and area of weakness needing strategies and policies to ensure patient-centered, safe, equitable, timely, and effective healthcare. Healthcare providers and policymakers in GCC countries can use the results to plan, assess, and improve care delivery. Trial registration: PROSPERO ID: CRD42022326842.

Keywords: Gulf Cooperation Council countries; health care quality; patient perceptive; patient-centered care; systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Epstein R.M., Street R.L. The values and value of patient-centered care. Ann. Fam. Med. 2011;9:100–103. doi: 10.1370/afm.1239. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kruk M.E., Gage A.D., Arsenault C., Jordan K., Leslie H.H., Roder-DeWan S., Adeyi O., Barker P., Daelmans B., Doubova S.V., et al. High-quality health systems in the Sustainable Development Goals era: Time for a revolution. Lancet Glob. Health. 2018;6:e1196–e1252. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30386-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization Quality of Care. [(accessed on 23 May 2022)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/health-topics/quality-of-care#tab=tab_1.
    1. Farokhzadian J., Nayeri N.D., Borhani F. The long way ahead to achieve an effective patient safety culture: Challenges perceived by nurses. BMC Health Serv. Res. 2018;18:654. doi: 10.1186/s12913-018-3467-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aljuaid M., Elmontsri M., Edvardsson D., Rawaf S., Majeed A. Psychometric evaluation of the Arabic language person-centred climate questionnaire—Staff version. J. Nurs. Manag. 2018;26:449–456. doi: 10.1111/jonm.12570. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources