PREDICTORS OF HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS' READINESS FOR HEALTH SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION IN SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

The healthcare system in Saudi Arabia is undergoing significant health reform to warrant sustainable welfare provision. Privatization or public-private partnerships (PPPs) were introduced in 2021 and outlined the vision for the health system for 2023. The planned initiatives aim to be comprehensive and effectively reach individuals and society, including citizens, non-citizens, and visitors. This dissertation seeks to study and explore privatization, the role of healthcare providers, and their capacity to adapt to the transformation of the healthcare system. To achieve this ambitious goal, several interrelated projects have been undertaken. The first project was a systematic review aimed at studying the transformation of the health system in Saudi Arabia since the launch of Health Vision 2030 and identifying the issues and steps the government has taken toward privatizing healthcare. The second project investigated the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the readiness to change constructs among healthcare providers. The third project explored the predictor variables and the ability to forecast the readiness level for health system transformation in Saudi Arabia. The systematic review found that the government made significant progress in facilitating and implementing the legislation's roadmap to implement the reform and achieve the health vision of 2023; however, health clusters and the Ministry of Health need to practice causation, as this fundamental change will affect the population directly. The second project found that the Arabic version of the readiness to change framework was valid and reliable for examining the ability of healthcare providers to change in healthcare settings. The third the project found that constructs of the ROC framework significantly predicted the readiness level among healthcare providers.