Patient Satisfaction in Dental Healthcare Settings at Saudi Ministry of Health: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Background Patient satisfaction is crucial for assessing healthcare quality and identifying strengths and weaknesses in healthcare organizations. In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health (MOH) implemented the Patient Experience Measurement Program to enhance patient experience and healthcare quality. This study aimed to identify specific aspects of patient satisfaction with dental visits in Saudi Arabia to improve dental care quality and inform dental services development. Methods The study used a standardized self-administered questionnaire (Health Links/Press Ganey) and analyzed surveys from patients who visited MOH-specialized dental clinics in Saudi Arabia during the first half of 2022. The dental section comprised 20 questions across five domains, with patients rating their experience on a 5-point Likert scale. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. Results A total of 964 patients were surveyed. The overall patient satisfaction with dental settings was 3.61 out of 5.0 (72.2%). The highest satisfaction score was for personal issues with the dental clinic domain (3.93/5; 78.6%), while the least satisfaction score was for access to the dental clinic domain (3.29/5; 65.8%). Among all items, the cleanliness of the facility showed the highest satisfaction score (4.11/5; 82.2%). The least satisfaction was for the ease of contacting the dental clinic (2.71/5; 54.2%). Conclusion The study found high levels of satisfaction among Saudi patients with dental services provided through MOH facilities across various component domains. This highlights the crucial role of dentists in ensuring high-quality dental care and serves as an indication of the overall healthcare quality in MOH facilities.

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

“…Studies by Alhawary and by Yousef, et al identified the highest satisfaction with access to healthcare [28,41]. However, Atallah et al and Aldossary et al found dissatisfaction in patients with respect to access [34,35]. Specifically, the study identified several factors influencing patient satisfaction with healthcare in GCC countries, including the physical environment (i.e., quality of buildings and availability of parking space), communication, provider behavior (e.g., language), waiting time, care accessibility, and comfort.…”

“…Another study [33] found that the highest degree of satisfaction among patients comes from communication (clear discharge instructions and updating the patient's family with changes). However, [34] found that most patient dissatisfaction comes from poor communication and needing help reading materials provided by the physician, in contrast with [35], who reported that communication resulted in the lowest degree of satisfaction, and that the nursing professional domain produced the highest degree of satisfaction, instead. Mohamed et al identified the highest degree of satisfaction with primary healthcare services (81.7%), and the cleanliness of the facilities (33.1%) and the technical competence of the staff (24.2%) were the primary factors that influenced this satisfaction.…”

“…Among all items, the cleanliness of the facility showed the highest score for satisfaction (4.11/5; 82.2%). The least satisfaction was for the ease of contacting the dental clinic (2.71/5; 54.2%) [34].…”

Exploring Predictors of Patient Satisfaction in Dental Services: A Secondary Analysis Study

“…In Saudi Arabia, the patient experience program in the Ministry of Health (MOH) employs a survey designed and administered by Press Ganey nationwide. 8 This survey is a standardized self-administered questionnaire that determines patients’ experience with healthcare services provided by MOH’s different specialties, including dental services. 8–10 …”

“… 8 This survey is a standardized self-administered questionnaire that determines patients’ experience with healthcare services provided by MOH’s different specialties, including dental services. 8–10 …”