Background: The incidence of cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is increasing. Whilst meeting the growing\ndemand for health care services in oncology, organisations must ensure they provide high quality care. Despite patient\nsatisfaction being an important metric in assessing quality of care, there is a dearth of literature in this field in the KSA,\nparticularly in oncology hospital wards. The aim of this study was to examine how interpersonal aspects of care and\nsocio-cultural communication impact upon patient satisfaction in an oncology ward setting in the Saudi Regional Cancer\nCentre (SRCC), in Riyadh.\nMethods: A sequential, explanatory, mixed methods design was employed. This paper presents the findings of the\nqualitative phase of the research, when semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews were conducted with 22\nadult oncology inpatients admitted to the SRCC in Riyadh.\nFindings: Three primary themes emerged from the interview data: doctor-patient relationship, nurse-patient\nrelationship, and contextual factors of cancer in the KSA. The findings indicated that patient satisfaction levels were\nsignificantly influenced by the interpersonal aspects of care. Doctor-patient and nurse-patient relationships were deemed\ncore to patients� experiences, with person-centered, interpersonal skills being especially important. In addition, sociocultural\nissues such as language barriers and non-disclosure negatively impacted on levels of satisfaction. Attention to\nsuch factors is necessary to improve quality of care in oncology ward settings in the Kingdom. Improvements in care\narising from enhanced interpersonal skills of staff, contextualised against a backdrop of social and cultural factors, would\npositively influence patient satisfaction in the KSA.\nConclusion: This study has provided new evidence supporting the need for stronger interpersonal relations and a more\npatient-centred approach in the oncology health system in the KSA. This research will assist policy makers and hospital\nmanagement teams wanting to improve patient satisfaction in oncology wards in the KSA.
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