Development and Validation of the Arabic Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (Ar-SAPS) in General Practice Clinics of a Tertiary Academic Hospital

Alsaad, Saad M.; Almuhaideb, Abdulrahman A.; Alswailem, Ahmed; Jansen, Max P.; AbuDujain, Nasser M.; Alsadhan, Khalid F.; Almutairi, Joud S.; Alrasheed, Abdullah A.; Almigbal, Turky H.

doi:10.3390/healthcare13192505

Open AccessArticle

Development and Validation of the Arabic Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (Ar-SAPS) in General Practice Clinics of a Tertiary Academic Hospital

by

Saad M. Alsaad

^1,†

,

Abdulrahman A. Almuhaideb

^2,†,

Ahmed Alswailem

²,

Max P. Jansen

^3,4

,

Nasser M. AbuDujain

^1,*

,

Khalid F. Alsadhan

¹,

Joud S. Almutairi

¹

,

Abdullah A. Alrasheed

¹ and

Turky H. Almigbal

^1,*

¹

Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh P.O. Box 11495, Saudi Arabia

²

College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh P.O. Box 2925, Saudi Arabia

³

Faculty of Social Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, D-60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

⁴

Institute for Social Research (IfS), Goethe University Frankfurt, D-60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Healthcare 2025, 13(19), 2505; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13192505

Submission received: 1 September 2025 / Revised: 26 September 2025 / Accepted: 30 September 2025 / Published: 2 October 2025

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Abstract

Background and aim: Patient satisfaction is a critical indicator of healthcare quality, shaping treatment adherence, continuity of care, and the allocation of resources. The Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (SAPS) is a brief, reliable tool that is widely used internationally, but no validated Arabic version currently exists. Therefore, this study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the SAPS into Arabic for use in primary care clinics. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional validation study at general practice clinics of a tertiary academic hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (June–August 2025). Consecutive Arabic-speaking patients aged 18–80 were recruited post-visit and completed a self-administered electronic survey including the Arabic Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (Ar-SAPS), PSQ-18, and PDRQ-9, as well as demographic and visit variables. Psychometric testing included internal consistency, test–retest reliability, construct validity, and factor analysis. Results: A total of 273 participants enrolled in our study. The Ar-SAPS demonstrated good reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.789; McDonald’s ω = 0.882) and moderate test–retest stability (ICC = 0.634, p < 0.0001). Factor analysis supported a primarily unidimensional structure, with the first factor explaining 60.2% of variance. Most inter-item correlations were moderate to strong, except for item 6. Convergent validity was supported by significant correlations with the Arabic PDRQ-9 (r = 0.623, p < 0.001, CI [0.532, 0.713]) and PSQ-18 (r = 0.662, p < 0.001, CI [0.531, 0.793]), confirming consistency with established measures of patient satisfaction. Furthermore, it demonstrated excellent discriminative ability, with areas under the curve of 0.965 for overall satisfaction and 0.955 for willingness to recommend. Conclusion: The Ar-SAPS is valid and reliable for use to assess patient satisfaction.

Keywords: patient satisfaction; SAPS; validity; reliability; Arabic

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MDPI and ACS Style

Alsaad, S.M.; Almuhaideb, A.A.; Alswailem, A.; Jansen, M.P.; AbuDujain, N.M.; Alsadhan, K.F.; Almutairi, J.S.; Alrasheed, A.A.; Almigbal, T.H. Development and Validation of the Arabic Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (Ar-SAPS) in General Practice Clinics of a Tertiary Academic Hospital. Healthcare 2025, 13, 2505. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13192505

AMA Style

Alsaad SM, Almuhaideb AA, Alswailem A, Jansen MP, AbuDujain NM, Alsadhan KF, Almutairi JS, Alrasheed AA, Almigbal TH. Development and Validation of the Arabic Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (Ar-SAPS) in General Practice Clinics of a Tertiary Academic Hospital. Healthcare. 2025; 13(19):2505. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13192505

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alsaad, Saad M., Abdulrahman A. Almuhaideb, Ahmed Alswailem, Max P. Jansen, Nasser M. AbuDujain, Khalid F. Alsadhan, Joud S. Almutairi, Abdullah A. Alrasheed, and Turky H. Almigbal. 2025. "Development and Validation of the Arabic Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (Ar-SAPS) in General Practice Clinics of a Tertiary Academic Hospital" Healthcare 13, no. 19: 2505. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13192505

APA Style

Alsaad, S. M., Almuhaideb, A. A., Alswailem, A., Jansen, M. P., AbuDujain, N. M., Alsadhan, K. F., Almutairi, J. S., Alrasheed, A. A., & Almigbal, T. H. (2025). Development and Validation of the Arabic Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (Ar-SAPS) in General Practice Clinics of a Tertiary Academic Hospital. Healthcare, 13(19), 2505. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13192505

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Development and Validation of the Arabic Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (Ar-SAPS) in General Practice Clinics of a Tertiary Academic Hospital

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