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Abstract
Background: Saudi Arabia embarked on transforming its primary health care system in 2016 to meet international standards, gain the peoples trust and respond to the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases, as proposed in the Saudi Vision 2030.
Aims: This review aims to highlight the progress, identify challenges and prospects for Saudi Arabias PHC reform process in order to make recommendations to facilitate strengthening of the PHC system.
Methods: A review of previous studies and governmental reports was undertaken to extract, analyse, synthesize and report the findings.
Results: The review has indicated that by mid-2019, the reform has contributed to an increase of 37.5% in the rate of PHC visits and 4.7% increase in patient satisfaction, enhanced coverage of rural communities (from 78% to 83%), and contributed to increasing the screening rate for prevalent chronic diseases. However, the country still faces gaps and challenges pertaining to human resources issues, cultural and lifestyle behaviour, geography, intersectoral collaboration and PHC infrastructure.
Conclusion: PHC reform process in Saudi Arabia has demonstrated that positive change is achievable. This has been aided by building on previous accomplishments and the wealth of experience gained throughout the PHC journey in Saudi Arabia. However, despite improvement in the quality of services, continuous improvement is required to meet the rising expectations of the population.
Keywords: primary health care; reform; transformation; Saudi Arabia
Résumé
Contexte : En 2016, l'Arabie saoudite s'est engagée dans la transformation de son systéme de soins de santé primaires pour se conformer aux normes internationales, obtenir la confiance de la population et faire face a la charge de plus en plus lourde des maladies non transmissibles, conformément a la Vision saoudienne a l'horizon 2030.
Objectifs : La présente analyse vise a mettre en évidence les progrés réalisés, a identifier les défis et les perspectives du processus de réforme des soins de santé primaires (SSP) en Arabie saoudite afin de formuler des recommandations pour faciliter le renforcement du systéme SSP.
Méthodes : Une analyse des études et des rapports gouvernementaux précédents a été réalisée afin d'extraire, d'analyser, de synthétiser les résultats et d'en rendre compte.
Résultats : L' analyse a indiqué qu'a la mi-2019, la réforme avait contribué a une augmentation de 37,5 % du taux de consultation pour les soins...