Patient Preferences for Non-Urgent Conditions: Primary Health Care Centers or Emergency Departments in Saudi

Abstract

Background: Many people are misusing the Emergency Department (ED) for non-urgent conditions instead of seeking care at Primary Health Care (PHC), making it difficult to treat actual crises quickly. This study aimed to determine whether the general public prefers PHC or ED in non-urgent situations and the factors affecting the decision.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 1838 participants using an online questionnaire. Data about demographics, general knowledge and preference on PHC and ED were collected.

Results: 53.3% were females, 40.9% had an age of 18-23 years, 55.0% were single, 83% were Saudi, 40.1% were students and 34.8% had medical insurance. Of them, 74.7% and 77.1% knew the correct definition of the PHC and the ED respectively. The majority of the participants (81.7%) do not know the symptoms that demand an ED visit .The most commonly chosen symptom causing ED visits was is broken bones or dislocated joints (67.4%) and 57% prefer to go to the PH. The most common barrier to visits the PHC was limited work hours (49.2%), and the most common for the ED was the crowding (53.2%). The overall satisfaction was better about the ED than the PHC. ED Preference was significantly higher among participants aged 24-29 years, non-Saudi, those with middle school education, unemployed, having medical insurance, among those who did not knew the correct definition of either PHC or ED, among those who were aware of the symptoms that demand an ED visit and those having very good satisfaction about the ED.

Conclusion: According to the study, it was found that the majority of the population preferred visiting the PHC over the ED. While most of the population demonstrated good knowledge of the definitions of ED and PHC, a significant deficiency was identified in recognizing critical signs and symptoms that necessitate a visit to the ED. Therefore, public campaigns and awareness videos on social media platforms were recommended to educate the public about the optimal methods for accessing the healthcare system. The objective is to decrease the incidence of non-urgent cases in the ED.