Awareness of importance of triaging in emergency department in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The emergency department (ED) is an important component of a healthcare system. Increased rates of visiting the ED, even for non-urgent cases, makes it necessary to prioritize patients who require immediate care over those who can wait. This process is called triage. However, although triage helps to deliver efficient service for the more needy patients, it results in delays for others, who may be left unsatisfied as a result. The aim of this research is therefore to assess the public awareness about triage in the ED and its importance in delivering improvements in healthcare in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To this end, a cross-sectional research method was adopted to conduct a study on the Saudi population between the periods from 01 November 2022 to 31 November 2022. The study used a self-administrated, validated and translated electronic questionnaire. SPSS software version 23 was used for data analysis. The study included 2056 participants, who reported the major causes for the last ED visit to be abdominal pain (26.4%) and headaches (14.4%). The mean ± standard deviation (SD) score of knowledge was 8.79 ± 2.13. Moreover, this mean significantly differed between educational levels (p ˂ 0.001), current jobs (p = 0.001), and residence (p ˂ 0.001). The majority (82.9%) reported that increasing the working hours of primary healthcare (PHC) centers would reduce the ED’s crowdedness. The data thus showed there was inadequate knowledge and some gaps regarding triage in the ED among the public population in Saudi Arabia. Educational level, current job and residence were determinants for the level of knowledge. Allocating specialized physicians, improving the primary health care centers facilities, as well as increasing the working hours of the Primary Health Care (PHC) will reduce pressures on EDs.

Awareness; Triage; ED; Importance

[1] Alrajhi KN, Aljerian NA, Alazaz RN, Araier LB, Alqahtani LS, Almushawwah SO. Effect of waiting time estimates on patients satisfaction in the emergency department in a tertiary care center. Saudi Medical Journal. 2020; 41: 883–886.

[2] Alhaqbani R, Bahmaid R, Almutairi M, Almasoudi W, Elmasarwa A, Alshehri A. Patient’s conception and attitude regarding triage system and waiting time at emergency department at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2022; 3: 130–137.

[3] Almulhim N, Almulhim F, Al Gharash A, Alghannam Z, Al-ghamdi RS, Alghamdi MH, et al. Preference for visiting emergency department over primary health care center among population in Saudi Arabia. Cureus. 2021; 31: e20073.

[4] Alhijli F, Mahmoud M, Alotabi Y, Alanazi S, Alghamdi A, Alrasheed M, et al. Knowledge and attitude towards emergency department utilization in Riyadh. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2022; 11: 3021.

[5] Calder-Sprackman S, Kwok ESH, Bradley R, Landreville J, Perry JJ, Calder LA. Availability of emergency department wait times information: a patient-centered needs assessment. Emergency Medicine International. 2021; 2021: 1–6.

[6] Al-Otmy SS, Abduljabbar AZ, Al-Raddadi RM, Farahat F. Factors associated with non-urgent visits to the emergency department in a tertiary care centre, western Saudi Arabia: cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2020; 10: e035951.

[7] Alnasser S, Alharbi M, AAlibrahim A, Aal Ibrahim A, Kentab O, Alassaf W, et al. Analysis of emergency department use by non-urgent patients and their visit characteristics at an academic center. International Journal of General Medicine. 2023; 16: 221–232.

[8] Alhabdan N, Alhusain F, Alharbi A, Alsadhan M, Hakami M, Masuadi E. Exploring emergency department visits: factors influencing individuals’ decisions, knowledge of triage systems and waiting times, and experiences during visits to a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2019; 12: 35.

[9] Alsulimani LK. Public awareness of triage in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia in the era of COVID-19. Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2022; 3: 120–129.

[10] Kuręda G, Lisowska A. Knowledge and opinions of patients attending a hospital emergency. Medical Science Pulse. 2021; 14: 1–8.

[11] Almass A, Aljohani HM, Alhaqbani RM, Alromih AM, Hadal S, Abozaid HS. Patient satisfaction with quality of care at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Cureus. 2022; 14: e32102.

[12] Seibert T, Veazey K, Leccese P, Druck J. What do Patients Want? Survey of patient desires for education in an urban university hospital. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2014; 15: 764–769.

[13] Grafstein E, Wilson D, Stenstrom R, Jones C, Tolson M, Poureslami I, et al. A regional survey to determine factors influencing patient choices in selecting a particular emergency department for care. Academic Emergency Medicine. 2013; 20: 63–70.

[14] Uscher-Pines L, Pines J, Kellermann A, Gillen E, Mehrotra A. Deciding to visit the emergency department for nonurgent conditions: a systematic review of the literature. The American Journal of Managed Care. 2013; 19: 47.

[15] Kheirbek RE, Beygi S, Zargoush M, Alemi F, Smith AW, Fletcher RD, et al. Causal analysis of emergency department delays. Quality Management in Health Care. 2015; 24: 162–166.