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Patients' Viewpoints on Using the Sehhaty Mobile Health Application in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia: A
Nabil Alhassani1, Abdulrahman Muslihi2, Asim Alhejaili3
1Department of Health Administration and Hospital, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 24382, Saudi Arabia.
Background/Objectives:
The Sehhaty app (v.3.38.0), the Saudi Ministry of Health patient portal, is the principal digital interface between citizens and the national health system. What distinguishes patients who derive functional value from superficial users remains poorly characterized. This study aimed to identify distinct patient viewpoints on Sehhaty use in western Saudi Arabia using Q-methodology grounded in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT).
Methods:
A 42-statement Q-set was derived from a systematic literature review covering eight extended UTAUT constructs plus usage behaviour. Twenty-four participants, purposively recruited via a matrix stratified by age, gender, chronic disease status, and location, completed online Q-sorts on a forced quasi-normal distribution (-5 to +5), followed by post-sorting interviews. Analysis used KADE v1.2.1 with centroid factor extraction and varimax rotation; principal component analysis only checked the number of factors.
Results:
Two viewpoints accounted for 51% of the variance among the Q-sorts. Factor 1 ("Cautious Users") showed high digital readiness and security confidence but limited perceived functional value. Factor 2 ("Functionally Engaged Users") perceived the application as efficient, care-integrated, and empowering. Fourteen consensus statements confirmed shared endorsement of usability, information clarity, and security trust. Neither viewpoint attributed app use to age, gender, chronic illness, or location, although the small purposive sample precludes demographic inference.
Conclusions:
Within the sampled viewpoints, the dominant perceived barrier to deeper engagement was limited perceived functional and clinical value rather than usability, access, or security. This exploratory finding informs Vision 2030 digital health policy and warrants larger quantitative confirmation.
