Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
 

« Back to Farmacia Journal 5/2023

PERCEPTIONS OF PEOPLES TOWARDS HEALTH CARE SEEKING BEHAVIOUR FROM HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS – FINDINGS FROM SAUDI COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE

ADEL BASHATAH 1, WAJID SYED 2*, MAHMOOD BASIL A. AL-RAWI 3

1Department of Nursing Administration & Education, College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
2 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
3 Department of Optometry, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

Download Full Article PDF

The purpose of this study was to analyse the individuals' attitudes about seeking medical care from healthcare professionals in the Riyadh Region of Saudi Arabia (SA). Between November 2022 and January 2023, a cross-sectional, web-based study was performed among residents of Riyadh in SA. In this study, 19-items questionnaires with three sections were employed. IBM Statistic SPSS was used to evaluate the data, and the level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Among the participants, 77.7% (n = 411) agreed that Saudi rules prohibit pharmacists from prescribing drugs without a prescription, while 45% (n = 193) had an unsatisfactory event with a medical doctor. The most common reason for people seeking pharmacist consultation was a common cold 79% (n = 343) followed by cough 64.5% (n = 280), headache 57.1% (n = 248), diarrhoea 38.5% (n = 176), constipation 34.6% (n = 150), fever 45.9% (n = 199). As the insurance status increased, there was a significant decrease in the unsatisfactory event associated with a medical doctor (B = 0.138; t = -2.901; p = 0.004), respectively. A multiple regression predictor analysis revealed that education and health insurance statistically significantly predicted unsatisfactory events with medical doctors (p = 0.001). In conclusion, a significant number of Saudi adults seek a diagnosis from pharmacists, and the majority of them have a mis-conception about the function of pharmacists in the healthcare system.