The awareness and utilization of 937-telephone health services in Saudi Arabia: Cross-sectional survey study

Background: The Ministry of Health introduced a new telephone health service number (937) in 2012, to provide emergency and normal healthcare consultations through a charge-free number at any time from all over the country. Objectives: This study aims to measure the level of awareness and utilization of 937-telephone health service in Saudi Arabia, and to examine the association of demographic characteristics and the level of awareness, and utilization. Methods: this is a quantitative cross-sectional study design, applied using an online questionnaire distributed to the Saudi Arabia's general public. A validated questionnaire was adapted from the literature to collect the required data, the questionnaire was modified and validated to match the study context. Results: A total of 1303 questionnaires were completed. The majority of respondents were females (79.4%) and from the eastern region (67.8%). Only 258 respondents reported that they are using this telephone service, while 601 respondents reported that they were aware of the service. Age, living province, nationality, level of education and respondents having children were significantly associated with awareness and utilization. Conclusion: After 7 years of launching the service, the level of awareness and utilization is still low. So, raising the awareness of 937- telephone health service and its benefits through proper advertisements would positively improve healthcare delivery in Saudi Arabia.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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