Investigating the Barriers and Facilitators to Effective Patient Education in Saudi Arabian Healthcare Settings: Perspectives of Nursing Professionals, Health Assistants, and Health Administrators

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators to effective patient education from the perspectives of nursing professionals, health assistants and health administrators in Saudi Arabian healthcare settings.
Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 21 healthcare professionals (7 nurses, 7 health assistants, 7 health administrators) from various healthcare facilities in Saudi Arabia. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes.
Results: Four main themes emerged: 1) Organizational barriers and facilitators, with lack of time and resources as key barriers and leadership support as a facilitator; 2) Provider-related barriers and facilitators, with heavy workloads and limited training as barriers and strong patient education skills as a facilitator; 3) Patient-related barriers and facilitators, with language and literacy issues as barriers and high motivation as a facilitator; 4) Sociocultural barriers and facilitators, with gender segregation norms as a barrier and family involvement as a facilitator.
Conclusions: Patient education efforts in Saudi Arabia face significant barriers related to organizational constraints, provider limitations, patient challenges, and sociocultural factors. Addressing these barriers and leveraging facilitators through tailored interventions at the organizational, provider, patient and community levels could improve the quality and impact of patient education. More research is needed to evaluate such interventions.