Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted A Qualitative Exploration of the Adoption of Big Data Analytics Applications in Healthcare: Insights from Saudi Hospitals(University of Southampton, 2025) Almoosa, Alya Abdulwahab A; So, Mee Chi; Kunc, MartinThe emergence of big data analytics (BDA) has introduced innovative solutions to disease prediction and diagnosis, personalised medicine, and hospital management. These advancements have offered opportunities for healthcare organisations to address the sector's pressing demands to reduce cost, improve care quality, and enhance accessibility to healthcare services. The aim of this study is to uncover the factors influencing the adoption of BDA applications in hospitals, promoting a better understanding of BDA adoption within the sector. This research also aims to explore how BDA solutions are being adopted in practice. To address these aims, this investigation followed a qualitative multiple-case study approach. The study investigated five large public hospitals in Saudi Arabia with differing levels of BDA adoption. Data sources included semi-structured interviews, documents, and memos, with interviews serving as the primary research method. A total of 36 interviews were conducted with employees involved in the adoption process. The findings suggest that BDA adoption in hospitals is shaped by a complex interplay of technological, organisational, environmental (TOE), and processual factors. Technological enablers such as data quality, data availability, compatibility, infrastructure, expertise, and trust in BDA applications create a foundation for BDA adoption and their absence results in major barriers. While organisational needs such as healthcare service types, patient volume and internal pressures act as drivers, BDA literacy, business-IT alignment, and decision-making culture are essential enablers for BDA adoption. Similarly, dynamic environments, competition, and changes in medical practices are external drivers for BDA solutions, whereas regulations and vendor support emerged as enablers. The study reveals that a well-defined adoption process and stakeholder consensus facilitate the adoption. Challenges to BDA adoption include resistance to change, vendor lock-in, ethical concerns, and public sector-specific issues such as decision-making dependencies and funding mechanisms. The study also reveals that advanced analytical solutions in hospitals are often adopted as objective-specific projects driven by localised needs and priorities. This sheds light on the role of BDA beneficiaries in the adoption process and the unique challenges to BDA adoption. This study contributes to both theory and practice. Theoretically, it contributes to the information systems (ISs) innovation adoption literature by advancing the understanding of the drivers, enablers, and barriers impacting BDA adoption in hospitals, particularly in public hospitals in Saudi Arabia. In addition to the well-established dimensions of the TOE framework, the study suggests the relevance of a processual dimension in shaping adoption outcomes. This dimension emphasises how aspects of the adoption process itself can influence the adoption. The study also provides insights into how BDA solutions are adopted, further emphasising the importance of understanding the adoption process of emerging technologies in IS adoption research. Practically, the study offers actionable recommendations for hospitals to overcome adoption barriers, improve organisational readiness, and support the effective integration of BDA technologies. It also provides valuable insights for policymakers, IS vendors, and professional bodies by highlighting the need for detailed regulatory frameworks for BDA applications in healthcare, improved vendor practices, and targeted awareness initiatives that promote responsible and ethical BDA adoption in healthcare.5 0Item Restricted A Qualitative Exploration of the Adoption of Big Data Analytics Applications in Healthcare: Insights from Saudi Hospitals(University of Southampton, 2025) Almoosa, Alya Abdulwahab A; Kunc, Martin; So, Mee ChiThe emergence of big data analytics (BDA) has introduced innovative solutions to disease prediction and diagnosis, personalised medicine, and hospital management. These advancements have offered opportunities for healthcare organisations to address the sector's pressing demands to reduce cost, improve care quality, and enhance accessibility to healthcare services. The aim of this study is to uncover the factors influencing the adoption of BDA applications in hospitals, promoting a better understanding of BDA adoption within the sector. This research also aims to explore how BDA solutions are being adopted in practice. To address these aims, this investigation followed a qualitative multiple-case study approach. The study investigated five large public hospitals in Saudi Arabia with differing levels of BDA adoption. Data sources included semi-structured interviews, documents, and memos, with interviews serving as the primary research method. A total of 36 interviews were conducted with employees involved in the adoption process. The findings suggest that BDA adoption in hospitals is shaped by a complex interplay of technological, organisational, environmental (TOE), and processual factors. Technological enablers such as data quality, data availability, compatibility, infrastructure, expertise, and trust in BDA applications create a foundation for BDA adoption and their absence results in major barriers. While organisational needs such as healthcare service types, patient volume and internal pressures act as drivers, BDA literacy, business-IT alignment, and decision-making culture are essential enablers for BDA adoption. Similarly, dynamic environments, competition, and changes in medical practices are external drivers for BDA solutions, whereas regulations and vendor support emerged as enablers. The study reveals that a well-defined adoption process and stakeholder consensus facilitate the adoption. Challenges to BDA adoption include resistance to change, vendor lock-in, ethical concerns, and public sector-specific issues such as decision-making dependencies and funding mechanisms. The study also reveals that advanced analytical solutions in hospitals are often adopted as objective-specific projects driven by localised needs and priorities. This sheds light on the role of BDA beneficiaries in the adoption process and the unique challenges to BDA adoption. This study contributes to both theory and practice. Theoretically, it contributes to the information systems (ISs) innovation adoption literature by advancing the understanding of the drivers, enablers, and barriers impacting BDA adoption in hospitals, particularly in public hospitals in Saudi Arabia. In addition to the well-established dimensions of the TOE framework, the study suggests the relevance of a processual dimension in shaping adoption outcomes. This dimension emphasises how aspects of the adoption process itself can influence the adoption. The study also provides insights into how BDA solutions are adopted, further emphasising the importance of understanding the adoption process of emerging technologies in IS adoption research. Practically, the study offers actionable recommendations for hospitals to overcome adoption barriers, improve organisational readiness, and support the effective integration of BDA technologies. It also provides valuable insights for policymakers, IS vendors, and professional bodies by highlighting the need for detailed regulatory frameworks for BDA applications in healthcare, improved vendor practices, and targeted awareness initiatives that promote responsible and ethical BDA adoption in healthcare.16 0Item Restricted Equity and Access to Healthcare Services: A qualitative analysis of the maternity care experiences of Arab migrant women in Scotland(University of Dundee, 2025) Gashgari, Dawood; Symon, Andrew; Lee, ElaineBackground: Globally, migration has surged over the past two decades, with the UK emerging as the fifth top destination, hosting over 9.5 million foreign born residents (IOM, 2021). There has been a gradual increase in the number of new female migrants in the country. These trends emphasise the importance of meeting the maternity care access needs of new migrants, ensuring equitable access to services, and adapting these services to diverse cultures. This study’s initial scoping review mapped the literature about maternity care access experiences among newly arrived migrants in EU/EFTA countries. It identified limited studies about newly arrived migrant women in Scotland, a country experiencing population growth due to migration. Among migrant group that received little attention despite their numbers are newly arrived migrant women from Arab countries. Aim: To explore and describe the maternity care access experiences of newly arrived Arab migrant women who have given birth in Scotland, and for whom English is not their first language. Methods: A Qualitative Descriptive study was conducted using the Levesque et al. (2013) 5As access to healthcare framework. Twenty participants from various Arab countries and with different migration statuses were selected from Scotland’s four largest cities through purposive sampling strategy. In-depth semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted, focusing on their experiences. Thematic Analysis (TA) was employed to analyse the interviews. Findings: Participants reported varied experiences at different stages of maternity care, with more challenges than facilitators in accessing care. An overarching theme ‘Expectation and reality’ and four other themes were identified from the data. These are: 1) Perceived availability and appropriateness of maternity care; 2) Motivators and inhibitors when seeking maternity care; 3) Communication; and 4) Encounters with healthcare professionals. Discussion and Conclusion: The study highlights lack of familiarity and discrepancies between expected and actual care experiences, affecting experiences and perceptions of maternity services. Participants faced several challenges at both service and organisational levels, leading to criticism and resistance behaviours such as appointment avoidance and exaggerating conditions. The study shows how initial self-directed barriers could transform into motivators, and vice versa, which influenced participants’ decisions to seek, accept, or avoid care. It also identifies substantial communication barriers due to language difficulties and the inadequacy of interpretation services. This, along with a lack of tailored informational materials, significantly affected access to and understanding of maternity care services. Positive interactions with healthcare professionals fostered feelings of equality and welcome, while negative encounters often resulted in perceptions of discrimination. Recommendations include improving information provision and adopting women-centred, culturally sensitive practices to enhance maternity care for migrant women.14 0Item Restricted Optimizing Healthcare Outcomes with a Medical Recommendation System Based on Machine Learning(Bahrain Polytechnic, 2024-08-18) Aldalbahi, Shrouq; Fawzy, AbdelhameedHealth care is extremely reliant on technology in a digital age, and this plays an important part in the fight against many diseases.Despite technological advancements, Misdiagnosis continue to pose a significant global health challenge. For avoiding these risks, This thesis is to explore how Machine Learning algorithms can be used in the disease diagnosis by building an ML-based Medical Recommendation System that significantly enhances the accuracy of disease diagnosis .Additionally, Even in an age where technology has become far more advanced and information is readily available to many people, a lot of people still follow traditional long-winded methods for seeking medical attention which can be time-consuming. This thesis also proposes a method for providing complete and detailed treatment recommendations these recommendations include descriptions of diseases, precautions, medications, exercise routines, and dietary suggestions tailored to the patient’s needs using machine learning. Utilizing two datasets of patient symptoms to train and test the models, we found that for dataset 1 the MultinomialNB model performed best at 97.36\%,followed by SVC at 94.44\%. Regarding dataset 2, the DNN model performed best at 84.19\%. This study implies that ML and DL algorithms could decreasing misdiagnosis, and improving patient care. This thesis illustrates a strong framework for application of advanced technologies in healthcare highlighting their transformative impact and substantial benefits, ultimately optimizing resource utilization for doctors and enhancing care and information for patients.48 0Item Restricted How Does Transformational Leadership Influence Employee Creativity Through Psychological Empowerment in the Health Industry? Lessons from Existing Theoretical and Empirical Literature(Queen’s Business School, 2024-09-13) Bin Jower, Aisha; Makowski, PiotrThis dissertation investigates the effect of transformational leadership on psychological empowerment and creativity in healthcare settings. The study addresses how leadership styles affect innovation and the performance of organisations in an industry that is chronically stressed, where rules are strict and ever-changing, and where patients’ needs are in constant flux. It uses a mixed-methods approach to existing data to explore several pertinent themes. One of these is how the behaviours of transformational leaders influence empowerment and how empowerment, in turn, mediates creativity among healthcare professionals. Furthermore, this research combines a quantitative analysis with a thematic qualitative review of the relevant literature to shed light on the association between leadership, empowerment, and creativity. The results indicate that transformational leadership has a strong, direct, and positive effect on psychological empowerment, which serves as a mediator for employee creativity, leading to improved innovation and job satisfaction. Also, it underscores ’the importance of context, demonstrating that effective healthcare leadership strategies should be tailored to the particulars of the environment if they are to achieve the desired effect. The dissertation concludes by recommending that healthcare organisations develop leadership programs that empower and nurture adaptability in their leaders: essential qualities that enable an organisation to meet the many challenges currently facing the healthcare industry. Future research should explore the specific kinds of leadership that serve the healthcare context and the support systems needed to create a culture of creativity within organisations14 0Item Restricted EXPLORING THE CHALLENGES FACED BY HR MANAGERS IN HOSPITALS IN TERMS OF RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION: SCOPING REVIEW(Swansea, 2024-09-28) Alyami, Mana; Rea, DavidThis scoping review investigates the challenges faced by HR managers in hospitals regarding the recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals. Considering the critical role of HRM in maintaining a skilled workforce, the study addresses strategies that could mitigate these challenges to ensure effective healthcare delivery. The research employs a scoping review methodology to assess existing literature. The databases utilised include Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Campbell Collaboration. Inclusion criteria centred on peer-reviewed English-language papers published between 2000 and 2023 that examine HR practices in hospitals. Key findings reveal that HR managers face multiple recruitment challenges, including talent shortages, lengthy recruitment processes, biased hiring practice, and weak employer branding. Retention challenges include poor leadership, lack of employee motivation and ineffective organisational culture. The study applies several theoretical frameworks including the Resource-Based View and Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory to develop strategies that improve recruitment and retention. These frameworks highlight the importance of leveraging existing resources, enhancing employee motivation as well as addressing leadership and cultural issues to retain healthcare professionals. The discussion chapter underscores the importance of adopting HRM practices that promote employee satisfaction, recognition, and career development opportunities to retain skilled staff. A notable limitation is that scoping reviews may not fully capture evolving challenges in rapidly changing environments which could impact the applicability of findings to emerging healthcare settings. Generally, the research identifies gaps in current literature and proposes future research opportunities to better address the evolving needs of HRM in healthcare recruitment and retention.21 0Item Restricted Privatisation of the Saudi Arabian Healthcare Facilities: An Understanding of the Problem Representations in the Governmental Documents(The University of Edinburgh, 2024) Alhaddab, Shatha; Virk, AmritAmidst rising healthcare costs and fluctuating oil prices, Saudi Vision 2030 incorporates healthcare sector privatization as a strategic approach to improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare services. This research critically analyzed problem representation in healthcare privatization policy proposals in Saudi Arabia, and how they conceptualize healthcare privatisation as a solution to these problems. A textual analysis using Bacchi's 'What’s the Problem Represented to be?' approach was utilized to analyze problem representations in Saudi Arabian governmental documents advocating healthcare privatization. A total of three governmental documents were included in this study. Three problem representations were identified during the analysis: poor quality and inefficient public healthcare services, a growing population with insufficient hospital capacity, and unsustainability funding for healthcare. As a solution, privatization and public-private partnerships are proposed. This includes selling certain government assets and forming partnerships. The study indicates that the KSA healthcare sector is undergoing significant transformations, driven by the Saudi Vision 2030 policy, aiming to enhance efficiency and quality through privatization. However, it raises concerns about increased healthcare costs and patient safety, underlining the need for robust governance to mitigate these risks. It emphasizes the importance of stakeholder involvement and regulatory frameworks to ensure equitable and high-quality healthcare.19 0Item Restricted An In-Depth Analysis of the Adoption of Large Language Models in Clinical Settings: A Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach(University of Bridgeport, 2024-08-05) Aldwean, Abdullah; Tenney, DanThe growing capabilities of large language models (LLMs) in the medical field hold promising transformational change. The evolution of LLMs, such as BioBERT and MedGPT, has created new opportunities for enhancing the quality of healthcare services, improving clinical operational efficiency, and addressing numerous existing healthcare challenges. However, the adoption of these innovative technologies into clinical settings is a complex, multifaceted decision problem influenced by various factors. This dissertation aims to identify and rank the challenges facing the integration of LLMs into healthcare clinical settings and evaluate different adoption solutions. To achieve this goal, a combined approach based on the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and the Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) has been employed to prioritize these challenges and then use them to rank potential LLM adoption solutions based on experts’ opinion. However, utilizing LLMs technologies in clinical settings faces several challenges across societal, technological, organizational, regulatory, and economic (STORE) perspectives. The findings indicate that regulatory concerns, such as accountability and compliance, are considered the most critical challenges facing LLMs adoption decision. This research provides a thorough and evidence-based assessment of LLMs in the clinical settings. It offers a structured framework that helps decision-makers navigate the complexities of leveraging such disruptive innovations in clinical practice.34 0Item Restricted Enhancing Organisational Performance through Strategic Human Resource Development: A Systematic Review of Employee Training Practices in the Healthcare Sector in the United Kingdom(Brunel University London, 2024-03-21) Alnasser, Mohammed; ValsecchiIn this dissertation, the study examines the strategic alignment of training initiatives with organisational objectives in the UK healthcare sector. The literature review explores various factors that impact the effectiveness of staff training and development programs. Specifically, the research delves into the role of leadership support, engagement of healthcare professionals, and barriers to implementation. The findings highlight the critical importance of aligning training objectives with organisational goals, emphasising the pivotal role of leadership support, and promoting a culture of continuous learning. Additionally, the research identifies disparities in training effectiveness across different healthcare settings, providing insights into potential areas for improvement. Furthermore, the dissertation offers recommendations for future research and practice to enhance the strategic alignment of training initiatives in healthcare organisations. Overall, this study contributes to understanding how strategic alignment can enhance the effectiveness of training programs in addressing the evolving needs of the healthcare sector in the UK.31 0Item Restricted Investigating Medical English as a Lingua Franca: Determining the Effectiveness of Communication between Healthcare Practitioners in Hospital Settings in Saudi Arabia(Trinity College Dublin, 2024-03-14) Alhossaini, Fatima Mohammed; Carson, LornaThis thesis investigates the effectiveness of communication between healthcare practitioners in multilingual hospital settings in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia, with a focus on Medical English as a Lingua Franca (MELF). With the increasing globalization of healthcare workforces, this study examines how linguistic and cultural diversity influences communication in medical contexts and determines the impact of medical language on effective communication. Employing linguistic mediation as a theoretical lens, this exploratory cross-sectional study utilises a scoping review, surveys, and one-to-one interviews across three public hospitals. The research identifies the absence of literature on MELF, calling for a primary investigation into the communication strategies of healthcare practitioners and their impact on communication effectiveness. The findings suggest that whilst medical language has its inherent challenges, the principal obstacles to effective communication arise from the practitioners' diverse educational, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds, which significantly impact communication. The study also indicate the creation of neologisms and non-standard abbreviations as coping strategies, which can lead to further complications. The study underscores the critical role of linguistic mediation in navigating healthcare communication, emphasising strategies such as translation, questioning, repetition, and the use of verbal and non-verbal cues. The necessity for professional interpreters, language assessments, and multilingual documentation policies is emphasised, along with cultural competence training. These strategies are essential for mediating communication, concepts, and texts in healthcare settings. In conclusion, the research highlights the diverse nature of communication within MELF environments and the need for collaborative efforts from the ministries of health and education to prioritise and improve communication among healthcare practitioners. The thesis advocates for major policy and educational reforms, concluding that effective communication in MELF settings is crucial for patient safety, thus requiring systematic training for medical practitioners to address linguistic and cultural disparities and deliver effective patient care.24 0