PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Alzahrani, Ali M.
AU  - Quronfulah, Baraa S.
AU  - Felix, Holly C.
AU  - Khogeer, Asim A.
TI  - Barriers to routine checkups use among Saudis from the perspective of primary care providers
AID  - 10.15537/smj.2022.43.6.20220090
DP  - 2022 Jun 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 618--625
VI  - 43
IP  - 6
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/43/6/618.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/43/6/618.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2022 Jun 01; 43
AB  - Objectives: To explore the perspectives of primary care providers (PCPs) on the low use of and barriers to routine checkups among Saudi adults.Methods: A qualitative phenomenological study design was used. Interviews were carried out between (December 2020 and February 2021) with 19 PCPs working at 5 primary healthcare centers (PHCs) operated by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics were performed to characterize participants, and a directed content analysis was carried out to examine major themes.Results: Primary care providers identified a number of barriers that contributed to a low uptake of routine checkup among Saudis. These barriers to routine checkups were classified into 3 main themes: patient-related barriers, provider-related barriers, and healthcare system-related barriers. Lack of knowledge of patients, crowdedness at PHCs, and busy staff at PHCs were the most frequently mentioned barriers that hamper the use of routine checkups.Conclusion: This study presented new insight into the low use of routine checkups by obtaining the perspective of PCPs. Although results point to potential targets for interventions to increase routine checkups, additional research is recommended with a representative sample of PCPs randomly selected from the healthcare system to inform future policy and decision making related to improving use of routine care available through the Saudi Healthcare System.