Healthcare Service Quality and Pilgrim Satisfaction during Hajj: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Abstract

Background: Hajj is a religious journey that millions of people take each year, and therefore religious duty requiring sufficient health care services to respond to the needs of this large congregation. Previous researches show the difficulties of healthcare suppliers faced with satisfying the demand of pilgrims, while the lack of understanding the factors that affect pilgrim satisfaction with services in the sphere of healthcare during this time remains.
Aim: Ultimately, this study seeks to assess the general healthcare service quality together with the level of satisfaction of the pilgrims in the course of performing hajj exercise and to determine factors that would either enhance or reduce the level of satisfaction of pilgrims in hajj.
Method: Self-administered cross-sectional questionnaires were given to 2797 men who sought health care during hajj. Self-administered questionnaires containing closed-ended questions were developed from a review of the literature and previous research to capture demographic details, health status, perception and satisfaction with specific health care services, and areas for improvement. In addition to data description, inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.
Results: These results suggest a large number of pilgrims specifically searched for health and 85% of this respondent described themselves as having good health. Although, problems like language barriers, or being unhappy with one or another aspect of the healthcare services received, including hospital response to emergencies and personnel’s work, were reported.
Conclusion: The study emphasizes the need to improve the health care needs of pilgrims during hajj in order to bridge the deficits. The highlighted barriers plan and the proposed recommendations should be met so as to enhance the overall satisfaction and safety of pilgrims to make their pilgrimage a satisfying one. It is, therefore,