Satisfaction of patients and healthcare practitioners with the services provided by urgent care centers in Saudi Arabia, 2024: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Urgent care centers offer a timely alternative to prolonged waiting times in emergency departments. Patient satisfaction is a key indicator of service quality, while healthcare practitioner satisfaction is essential for system efficiency and performance. We aimed to assess the quality of urgent care services by assessing the satisfaction levels among patients and healthcare practitioners and identifying associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted using two validated self-administered questionnaires to assess satisfaction levels and related factors among patients and healthcare practitioners. Student's t-test and one-way analysis of variance were employed to compare mean satisfaction scores, while the chi-squared test was used to analyze categorical variables. Linear regression analysis identified factors associated with satisfaction. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 425 patients and 103 healthcare practitioners were recruited from urgent care centers. The mean satisfaction score was 72 ± 10 among patients and 68 ± 20 among healthcare practitioners. In the regression analysis of sociodemographic variables, higher patient satisfaction was significantly associated with being non-Saudi and a first-time visitor. Among healthcare practitioners, higher satisfaction was associated with being non-Saudi, male, and working in a nursing role. Easy accessibility was the most influential factor in patients' preference for urgent care centers over emergency departments. CONCLUSION: Our findings reinforce the conceptual distinction of urgent care centers as a unique service model warranting further empirical and theoretical attention. Further research is needed to support the expansion of UCCs.