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Background: Saudi Arabia is currently passing through a transformational phase. There is a huge demand on the Saudi healthcare system to provide better healthcare facilities to the rapidly increasing Saudi population, as well as the growing elderly population. Lack of trained healthcare professionals and heavy reliance on foreign workers are significant aspects for policymakers to consider and deal with. It is also important to re-examine the healthcare Human Resource Development (HRD) initiatives so as to provide a huge reserve of healthcare professionals with appropriate learning and competence., Method: This paper is a critical review based on secondary data collected from various sources including databases, reports, articles, books, government documents and earlier research undertaken in this regard. The paper is an attempt to document and evaluate the various steps suggested and undertaken by the new strategic plan, Vision 2030, and consequently documented in the National Transformation Program (NTP) adopted in April 2016 in the healthcare HRD sphere in Saudi Arabia., Results: It has been shown that appropriate HRD capacity building needs to be adopted along with the aggressive policy regulation. It is also important to ensure that future health sector investment meets the needs of local healthcare HRD. Saudization and the adoption of the 'Nitaqat' program have played an effective role in pushing the Saudization targets in the private sector, and there is a huge scope for the absorption of young trained Saudi boys and girls in the healthcare sector., Conclusion: Vision 2030 adopted in 2016 is a testimony to a revolutionary step undertaken by the government and that the healthcare sector is also passing through a major shift in its approach and execution. Vision 2030 has come out with a very clear sense of direction to the healthcare sector, and the projected shift from the existing one-third to two-third Saudi-to-foreigner workforce ratio by the year 2030 needs to be adopted carefully to turn the healthcare HRD challenges into opportunities., Competing Interests: Not applicableNot applicableThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The present study was designed to examine the role of socioeconomic status (SES) of the mother's knowledge about different aspects of diabetes and the glycemic control of type 1 children with diabetes. Samples were taken from successive admissions to the outpatient diabetes clinics in Prince Sultan Medical Military City (PSMMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A well designed questionnaire covering different aspects including demographic data, educational background, and socioeconomic status of the care providers was used to collect information from mothers of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) children. The questionnaire was designed on the basis of the Michigan diabetes knowledge scale and also on the basis of food habits of Saudi Arabia and it was validated. The questionnaire was completed after interviewing the mothers during visits to the PSMMC hospital. Every mother was asked with those particular questions. Glycemic control was assessed by glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c). The socio-demographic data of mothers was recorded by self-report. It was found that, there was significant variation in the knowledge of diabetes among mothers with different ages (P 0.05). No significant results were observed between family income and diabetes knowledge (p>0.05).However, a positive relationship was observed with higher income and higher knowledge. There was a significant association between mothers knowledge of diabetes and HbA1C level (r = -0.1739, p.<0.05) indicating that, higher knowledge ultimately leads to greater control of HbA1c level. A significant association was also observed between education and HbA1c level (r=-02538, p<0.05) with children of mothers with higher level of education showing a better control of glycated haemoglobin levels. However, no significant association was found between monthly family income and HbA1C level. In conclusion, the current study illustrated that, mothers with more knowledge of diabetes and with better education were maintaining a better glycemic control of their children, irrespective of the socio-economic status. It was found that, to improve glycemic control and to decrease acute and chronic complications of diabetes in children, mother's knowledge and education is needed.

Purpose: Saudi Arabian hospital performance, vis-á-vis patient satisfaction with service provision, has emerged as a key policy and planning concern. Keeping in view public and private hospital service quality, this article seeks to provide guidelines to the on-going Saudi Arabian health service reorganization, which emphasizes decentralization, bed-capacity expansion, research-based policymaking and initiatives in the health insurance sector., Design/methodology/approach: The article outlines an empirical study that compares patient satisfaction with service quality in Saudi Arabian public and private sector hospitals. The authors employ a stratified random sample (1,000 inpatients) from five Saudi Arabian public and five private hospitals. Data were collected through questionnaire using the SERVQUAL scale. For reducing the language bias the questionnaire was translated into Arabic. The response rate was 74.9 percent. Data were analyzed using SPSS and appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical techniques., Findings: Cronbach's alpha for five service-quality dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, safety and empathy) were high and the SERVQUAL instrument proved to be reliable, valid and appropriate. The results showed that sex, education, income and occupation were statistically significant in influencing inpatients' satisfaction, and all the null hypotheses were rejected. Only inpatient age was not significant., Practical Implications: The study highlights service quality influence in the design of broader healthcare strategies for Saudi Arabian public and private hospitals. It demands that management researchers and analysts must identify regional service quality consistencies and related inpatient demographic indicators., Originality/value: The study offers some insights into, and guidance for, hospital quality assurance in Saudi Arabia in general and the urban hospital setting in the Middle-East in particular.

This article emphasizes a holistic definition of health. It then introduces the concept of Medical social sciences, and drawing from the literature, argues for the inevitability of social sciences in medical education, especially in the health systems of developing countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This is followed by a brief history of medical education in KSA, and an examination of some important social science issues. Finally, this article suggests how a holistic approach involving inputs from the social and behavioral sciences could be incorporated into undergraduate medical education to produce medical professionals who could better meet the community and public health needs of the country.