There has been an increasing demand for psychiatric care in recent decades, and “telepsychiatry” was developed to meet these demands. It is a type of telemedicine in which they provide many medical services virtually, such as therapy, counseling, and medication management. Telepsychiatry has numerous advantages, including lower costs, reduced stigma, and improved continuity of care. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies in the western region of Saudi Arabia addressed patients satisfaction with telepsychiatry. This cross-sectional study aims to assess patient satisfaction in telepsychiatry in terms of accessibility and timeliness, appropriateness, effectiveness, and safety, and to see whether patient satisfaction affects their decision to use the service again in the future. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a prestructured survey on the basis of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-18, which is a validated questionnaire used to assess patients’ satisfaction with the services provided to them. From January 2021 to July 2021, all male and female psychiatric patients over the age of 18 years who had psychiatric virtual appointments were included in this study. This study included 182 patients, of whom 106 were female. Patients were generally satisfied with the telepsychiatry services; 56.6%, 81.9%, 86.8%, and 91.2% of the participants were satisfied with the access and timeliness, appropriateness, effectiveness, and safety, respectively, and a total of 58.3% either strongly agree or agree of the overall satisfaction level. Depression and anxiety disorders were the most common psychiatric diseases. The statistical analysis revealed no significant relationships between patients’ satisfaction and demographic characteristics. Telepsychiatry has been evaluated to meet the growing demand for psychiatric care; it also has significant advantages. Patients had an overall positive satisfaction level toward telepsychiatry service, and so the results of this study support the continuity of using telepsychiatry in the future. Further research area could include a comparison between patients’ and providers’ satisfaction levels with telepsychiatry.
Backgroundː Diabetes mellitus (DM) has a high prevalence rate in Saudi Arabia. Patients must have sufficient knowledge about DM to improve their self-management skills and prevent complications. This research was conducted to estimate the knowledge level among diabetic patients attending primary care centers about DM and its impact on their health. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of type II diabetic patients in Makkah city. Self-administered validated Arabic questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data, knowledge about the disease, and the level of control. Results The study included 293 patients, 50.2% were females and 85.3% were Saudis. Mean age was 50 years (ranged 31 -77). Blood glucose was uncontrolled in 90.4% of patients. The overall knowledge regarding DM score mean 8.3±2.5 SD (ranged 3 -16) out of 20 and a median (Interquartile range) of 8 (7-10). Higher educated patients (p=0.043) and those who practiced physical activities (p=0.007) were more knowledgeable than their counterparts. None of the diabetes-related variables was significantly related with participants` information. Score of knowledge was not significantly related with level of glycemic control.
Backgroundː Diabetes mellitus (DM) has a high prevalence rate in Saudi Arabia. Patients must have sufficient knowledge about DM to improve their self-management skills and prevent complications. This research was conducted to estimate the knowledge level among diabetic patients attending primary care centers about DM and its impact on their health. Methodsː A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of type II diabetic patients in Makkah city. Self-administered validated Arabic questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data, knowledge about the disease, and the level of control. Resultsː The study included 293 patients, 50.2% were females and 85.3% were Saudis. Mean age was 50 years (ranged 31 -77). Blood glucose was uncontrolled in 90.4% of patients. The overall knowledge regarding DM score mean 8.3±2.5 SD (ranged 3 -16) out of 20 and a median (Interquartile range) of 8 (7-10). Higher educated patients (p=0.043) and those who practiced physical activities (p=0.007) were more knowledgeable than their counterparts. None of the diabetes-related variables was significantly related with participants` information. Score of knowledge was not significantly related with level of glycemic control. Conclusionsː Patients with type II DM in Makkah had insufficient knowledge about their disease, its complications, and treatment.
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