Benchmarking of Percutaneous Injuries at the Ministry of Health Hospitals of Saudi Arabia in Comparison with the United States Hospitals Participating in Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet™)

Introduction: The epidemic of tobacco use poses one of the most severe public health challenges globally, responsible for over 8 million deaths annually according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This study investigates the factors associated with tobacco use among Saudi Arabian youth...

Background: Patient satisfaction is crucial for assessing healthcare quality and identifying strengths and weaknesses in healthcare organizations. In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health (MOH) implemented the Patient Experience Measurement Program to enhance patient experience and healthcare quality. This study aimed to identify specific aspects of patient satisfaction with dental visits in Saudi Arabia to improve dental care quality and inform dental services development. Methods: The study used a standardized self-administered questionnaire (Health Links/Press Ganey) and analyzed surveys from patients who visited MOH-specialized dental clinics in Saudi Arabia during the first half of 2022. The dental section comprised 20 questions across five domains, with patients rating their experience on a 5-point Likert scale. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. Results: A total of 964 patients were surveyed. The overall patient satisfaction with dental settings was 3.61 out of 5.0 (72.2%). The highest satisfaction score was for personal issues with the dental clinic domain (3.93/5; 78.6%), while the least satisfaction score was for access to the dental clinic domain (3.29/5; 65.8%). Among all items, the cleanliness of the facility showed the highest satisfaction score (4.11/5; 82.2%). The least satisfaction was for the ease of contacting the dental clinic (2.71/5; 54.2%). Conclusion: The study found high levels of satisfaction among Saudi patients with dental services provided through MOH facilities across various component domains. This highlights the crucial role of dentists in ensuring high-quality dental care and serves as an indication of the overall healthcare quality in MOH facilities.

Introduction: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has increased globally among adolescents. However, data on its use among adolescents in Saudi Arabia remain limited. Therefore, this study describes the characteristics and factors associated with e-cigarette use in this population....

Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to acquiring new behaviors, including tobacco use, especially in familiar and social gatherings and celebrations where they witness certain behaviors like waterpipe use. Saudi Arabia enhances preventive and therapeutic healthcare services. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of tobacco use and identify its predictors among adolescents aged 13-15 years in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, which was conducted in Saudi Arabia in 2022. The overall prevalence of tobacco use among Saudi Arabian adolescents was 8.8%, where 7.5% of the participant females versus 10% of the males use tobacco products. Age and lower spending were significantly associated with higher evidence of smoking among youth (P < 0.05). Moreover, various predictors ofsmoking behavior among Saudi adolescents e.g., exposure to secondhand smoke, elevate the likelihood of the adolescents in Saudi Arabia to use tobacco (OR 1.849, CI 1.450-2.358). Additionally, different kinds of media messages target this age category as well as the adolescent's perception of smoking (OR 1.319, CI 1.021-1.705). Increased efforts are needed to address the harmful health and social impacts of smoking among adolescents in Saudi Arabia. Such efforts may include educational health campaigns targeting adolescents at their schools or in public places and mass gatherings.

Purpose: Understanding the factors that influence the level of patient satisfaction with dental services and identifying the strengths and weaknesses in dental clinics will subsequently increase patient satisfaction and contribute to improving dental care quality. This study aims to evaluate the variables that impact patients’ satisfaction with dental services received in specialized dental care centers of the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia. Patients and Methods: Secondary data at the national level from a patient experience program were used in this study. Completed Press Ganey^® surveys submitted by patients during the first half of 2022 were included. The effect of the different domains (access to dental clinic, moving through dental visit and dentist) on the overall assessment rating of patient satisfaction was assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) and multiple linear regression models. Results: A total of 964 surveys were completed and subsequently analyzed. The overall assessment rate of patient satisfaction was 73.4%. All items of the domains showed highly significant correlation levels (P < 0.001). However, the Dentist domain exhibited the highest correlation with the overall assessment rate of ‎patient satisfaction. Conclusion: The dentist acts as the most significant predictor of patient satisfaction.