Qualitative Focus Group Study Examining Perceptions of the Community's Important Health Issues, Health Care Needs and Perceived Barriers to Access Among Arabic Speaking Primary Care Clients in the State of Qatar

Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari; Samya Al Abdulla; Maha Abdulla; Azza Mustafa Mohammed; Ahmad Haj Bakri; Fahad Shaikhan; Hanan Buhaddoud

doi:10.2147/JMDH.S288194

Qualitative Focus Group Study Examining Perceptions of the Community's Important Health Issues, Health Care Needs and Perceived Barriers to Access Among Arabic Speaking Primary Care Clients in the State of Qatar

J Multidiscip Healthc. 2021 Apr 28:14:961-971. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S288194. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari¹, Samya Al Abdulla², Maha Abdulla¹, Azza Mustafa Mohammed¹, Ahmad Haj Bakri¹, Fahad Shaikhan³, Hanan Buhaddoud¹

Affiliations

¹ Strategy Planning and Health Intelligence, Primary Health Care Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
² Operations, Primary Health Care Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
³ Preventative Health - Health Protection, Primary Health Care Corporation, Doha, Qatar.

Abstract

Objective: This study is a part of the Primary Health Care Corporation's (PHCC) Health Needs Assessment (HNA) Initiative. It focuses on identifying perceptions of Arabic speaking primary care clients regarding community's major health issues, their experiences in utilizing health services, and the barriers that limit their access to health care in the State of Qatar.

Study setting and design: A total of 10 focus groups sessions were conducted at different PHCC's health centers between October of 2019 and March of 2020. Sessions were distributed to cover all PHCC's three geographical regions. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Participants: A total of 89 adult Arabic speaking individuals were recruited. Participants included were in the age groups (18-69), native Arabic speaker, and registered at one of the PHCC's health centers with a valid health card at time of recruitment.

Results: Areas investigated included perceptions of the community's health issues, needed health services, and perceived barriers to health care. Priority health issues identified were chronic non-communicable diseases, mental health, timely access to care, cultural competency of delivered services, and integration and coordination across health care settings and sectors. Participants were able to identify socioeconomic and environmental factors such as the need for health and wellness interventions at schools that affects the health of the individual and the community. The importance of raising the community's awareness about health-related issues and availability of health services was highlighted by study participants.

Conclusion: Collecting qualitative data provides an opportunity to examine people's perceptions, and motivations and engage the whole community. This process is very important for strategic planning of health services. The study attempts to fill the knowledge gap and should be linked to health policy and the development of socially and culturally appropriate health programs.

Keywords: PHCC; Qatar; health needs assessment; primary care; qualitative research.

Grants and funding

The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.