Personalizing health call center services: results from an online survey on user experiences in Kuwait

Background: Limited evidence exists regarding user satisfaction with 151 call center service established by the Ministry of Health in Kuwait. This study explores user satisfaction with a healthcare call center by analyzing user experiences with Kuwait's Ministry of Health 151 call center. Method: A national anonymous online survey was conducted through Twitter, WhatsApp, and Facebook. A 5-point Likert scale was used to obtain user ratings of their satisfaction with the various aspects of the 151 call center. Mean ratings and their standard deviations summarized the ratings, as One-way ANOVA tested the existence of statistically significant differences in mean ratings across groups to identify factors influencing the ratings. Results: Out of 1020 respondents, 28.4% (n = 290) had contacted the 151 service with vaccination-related inquiries, general inquiries, and COVID-19-related inquiries. Overall, female participants expressed statistically significantly higher satisfaction levels with quality (p < 0.021) and communication with doctors (p < 0.030). Response to calls, forwarding of complains, and representatives' knowledge and skills were rated highly by respondents with high school diploma and bachelor's degree compared to individuals with less than high school education, master's degree, and doctorate degree (p = 0.032, p = 0.012, and p = 0.007, respectively). Conclusions: Nationally-representative Kuwaiti embraced the 151 call center, with gender and education level influencing the participants' satisfaction with 151. The findings revealed the need for the call center to tailor-make services by gender and education diversities to optimize user experiences.