Cultural diversity: A qualitative study on Saudi Arabian women's experience and perception of maternal health services

Abstract

Background: The Saudi Arabian healthcare system is mainly staffed by Non-Saudi health professionals who are recruited from all over the world. At times, inadequate cultural awareness by health professionals can render their caring for Saudi patients inadequate and thus more challenging for the women. When nurses and patients belong to different cultures, culture-based misunderstandings can influence their relationships and interactions adversely. The aim is to describe the experiences of women who were admitted to maternity wards gaining their perceptions and understanding of the cultural diversity exhibited by health care providers. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological approach was utilized for the exploration of the experiences and perceptions of 37 Saudi women who admitted to a private hospital in Saudi Arabia and related to cultural diversity of health providers' team. The principal method of data collection was a semi structured, open-ended interview. Focus of enquiry was the experience of the participants during their stay in maternity wards and then depending upon the answers further discussion was subdivided into questions about gender, believes and values, religion, language and the nationality of the health providers. Findings: The findings were grouped into five themes, namely: religious diversity, linguistic diversity, gender diversity, values and beliefs diversity and nationality diversity. The themes have been discussed as representing key experiences and perceptions that can positively and negatively affect maternity services provided by nurses. Conclusion: Understanding the concept of culture and the factors related to it will enhance the quality of care provided by the health team and may also play a positive role during recruitment of the health team providers and in the provision of any continuous education programmes.

Cultural competency of Saudi Student nurses as rated by Filipino clinical instructors at the University of Hail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…The patients also had difficulty in understanding the English language, so the nurse educators/clinical instructors could not discuss sexuality or birth processes in detail in front of the patient, while coaching the nursing students. This is consistent with the study by Karout et al (2013) on Saudi Arabian women"s experience and perception of maternal health services, that the biggest problem discussed by most women was that of linguistic diversity; not only the difference between the English and Arabic languages but extending to the accents of non-English speakers such as Indians, Filipinos and Pakistanis. In addition, the study conducted by Albagawi (2014) on examining barriers and facilitators to effective nurse-patient communication within the Saudi Arabian cultural context found that effective communication was not achieved because of many complex and overlapping personal, professional and organizational factors.…”

“…Being conservative, they can be embarrassed by questions on their sexual relationships and other personal matters. Karout et al (2013) found in their study of Saudi Arabian women"s experiences and perception of maternal health services that "the presence of non-Muslim service providers did not satisfy them because they believed that Muslim service providers will not look at their uncovered bodies especially their genitalia unless there is a need for that, and they will be conscious uncovering themselves". Thus, the Clinical Instructors found it difficult to create scenarios for the students to experience and participate in the learning process because of the patient"s culture.…”

Systematic review of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) knowledge measurement instruments used on the Arabian Peninsula

“…Even though KSA follows a conservative approach to Islam, discussion of married women’s sexual behaviour is acceptable within a medical context, so participation in research is not compromised in this population. For example, a study on Saudi Arabian women’s experiences with maternal health services elicited very intimate comments from Saudi women about their pregnancy and birthing process [ 31 ].…”

The Perceived Cultural Barriers to Effective Communication Towards Patient Among Non-Saudi Registered Nurses of a Public Hospital, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…Thirty-five percent of respondents indicated that nurses' nationality during patient-nurse communication has an effect. Research by Karout et al (2013) showed that Saudi patients perceived foreign female nurses (especially Filipinos and Indians) as maids or housekeepers. Almutairi et al (2015) found that Filipino nurses experienced a lack of respect from Saudi nationals.…”

“…The findings revealed that cultural diversity and linguistic barriers have a negative effect on expatriate nurses' patient care experiences. A study by Karout et al (2013) determined that clients faced cultural communication difficulties in some cases. These difficulties could lead to misunderstandings that could then result in diminished care provided by the nurses.…”