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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Ann Natl Acad Med Sci 2020; 56(04): 214-219
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1721554
Original Article

Public’s Perception and Satisfaction on the Health Care System in Sultanate of Oman: A Cross-Sectional Study

Humaid Al-Kalbani
1   Department of Ophthalmology, Al-Buraimi Hospital, Ministry of Health, Sultanate of Oman
,
Tariq Al-Saadi
2   Department of Neurosurgery, Khoula Hospital, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
3   Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute-McGill University, Montreal, Canada
,
Ahmed Al-Kumzari
4   Department of Pediatric, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman Medical Speciality Board, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
,
Hassan Al-Bahrani
4   Department of Pediatric, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman Medical Speciality Board, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
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Abstract

Objective There are no “gold standard” parameters to measure patient satisfaction regarding the health care system provided by the government. Most of the developed countries have well-structured health care systems, and they depend on patient satisfaction to evaluate and optimize performance and activities of such systems. The study was conducted to evaluate the Omani population’s satisfaction toward public and private health care systems existing in the country.

Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with a predesigned and pretested questionnaire that was sent to all regions of the Sultanate of Oman via an electronic link. The questionnaire included 22 questions divided into two sections: (1) public and private health care systems in Oman, and (2) abroad treatments.

Results The response rate of the 11 Oman’s governorates was 73.9%. There was an association between gender, age, marital status, and the level of education with the preference for local private hospital’s treatment (p < 0.001). Both males (88.1%) and females (83.9%) preferred to be treated by Omani doctors. The association between gender and the preference to be treated by the Omani doctors was statistically significant (p = 0.016). There was a significant relationship between the overall patient satisfaction regarding the treatment that they received and all of the following parameters: well-trained nurses, competency of doctors, professional behavior, and skill level of the staff. On the other hand, 88% of the participants were unhappy about appointment waiting times to be seen in the tertiary-care hospital.

Conclusion The study showed that most of the participants have preferred to be treated by Omani physicians and nurses, however, hospitals need to make operational and working changes in order to decrease the appointment waiting time, as this was found to be one of the most common reasons for population dissatisfaction.

Keywords

health care system in Oman - population satisfaction - public hospital - private hospital - treatment abroad


Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
07. Dezember 2020

© 2020. National Academy of Medical Sciences (India). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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