Treatment destinations and visit frequencies for patients seeking medical treatment overseas from the United Arab Emirates: results from Dubai Health Authority reporting during 2009-2016

The State of Cancer Care in the United Arab Emirates in 2022

Cancer is the third-leading cause of death in the United Arab Emirates (UAE); cancer care in the UAE has evolved dramatically over the last 40 years, from a single center in Al Ain in 1981 to more than 30 cancer centers and clinics across the UAE, with at least four comprehensive cancer centers in the UAE nowadays. Despite the significant progress in medical care, cancer quality control across the UAE is still lacking, with significant variations in cancer care across the cancer centers. Access to clinical trials is still hampered by a lack of expertise and research infrastructure and a small population, which renders patient accrual for trials a major challenge. Education and training are other areas for improvement that require immediate attention, and, in this review, we try to address these critical aspects for stakeholders to consider better cancer care in the UAE. Early cancer detection and screening are still evolving in the UAE, and a national screening program is lacking. There is also a need to address barriers to screening and to consider less invasive screening methods such as approved blood-based screening, which is likely to be more acceptable to the UAE population. In this review, we also address new topics that have not been addressed previously, including oncology medical tourism, psycho-oncology, onco-fertility, precision oncology, survivorship, oncology nursing, cancer support programs, and the oncology sector's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all in the context of the UAE cancer landscape. Finally, we provide recommendations for policymakers, regulators, payers, patient advocacy groups, and the UAE oncology community regarding the delivery and future planning of high-quality cancer care. These recommendations are aligned with the UAE government's vision to reduce cancer mortality and provide high-quality healthcare for its citizens and residents.

Scoping the literature on patient travel abroad for cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment

The incidence of cancer is on the rise globally. Under particular circumstances, patients are willing to travel abroad for healthcare treatments. We know relatively little however about patients travelling overseas for cancer-related screening, diagnosis and treatment. Where do patients go, for what treatments, what are their motivations, decision-making processes and treatment experiences? What do we know about patient safety and risk, and outcomes? More broadly, what are the ethical and legal implications? This review presents the first published assessment of what we term 'transnational oncology treatment', defined as patients travelling overseas or across borders for cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment. The review undertakes detailed search and retrieval of the literature, using an accepted scoping review method. We present a narrative review of existing knowledge and themes, identifying coverage and gaps. There is a five-fold agenda for future investigation: trajectories and itineraries; in depth focus on treatment decisions, experiences and outcomes; locating patient travel within wider health system analysis; exploration of professional perspectives and coordination; and situating travel within the context of health trade. Such an agenda is multidisciplinary and wide-ranging, encompassing epidemiology, health economics, health policy ethics, health politics, health management, and health policy.

The Socio-Demographic Characteristics Associated with Non-Communicable Diseases among the Adult Population of Dubai: Results from Dubai Household Survey 2019

BACKGROUND

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading causes of death worldwide. In the UAE, NCDs account for nearly 77% of all deaths. There is limited empirical research on this topic in the UAE. We aimed to examine the association of non-communicable diseases and the sociodemographic characteristics among the adult population of Dubai.

METHODS

The study used secondary data from the Dubai Household Health Survey (DHHS), 2019. DHHS is a cross-sectional complex design, stratified by geographic area, and uses multistage probability sampling. In this survey, 2247 families were interviewed and only adults aged 18+ were included for the analysis. The quasi-binomial distribution was used to identify the socio-demographic characteristics association with NCDs.

RESULTS

The prevalence of NCDs among the adult population of Dubai was 15.01%. Individuals aged 60+, local Arabs (Emirati), divorced and widowed individuals, and individuals who were not currently working reported NCDs more than the other groups. In the regression analysis, the association with NCDs were reported among elderly people, males, unmarried individuals, older individuals who are unmarried, and Emiratis.

CONCLUSION

The study identified several socio-demographic characteristics associated with reporting NCDs. This is one of the few studies related to NCDs in Dubai. Allocating appropriate resources to the population groups identified is crucial to reduce the incidence of NCDs in the Emirate.

Motivational factors for choosing treatment destinations among the patients treated overseas from the United Arab Emirates: results from the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions survey 2012

Background

Travelling seeking healthcare is becoming common phenomenon. There is limited research to understand factors associated with destinations of choice. Each year the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) spends millions of dollars to cover Emiratis seeking healthcare overseas. The objective of this study is to examine the association of treatment destinations, patients’ characteristics and motivation factors among the patients treated overseas from the UAE during 2009–2012.

Method

The data from the Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions Survey 2012 in Dubai on medical travel. Examining destinations by patients’ characteristics and motivational factors under push and pull factor framework. Modified Poisson regression model was used to identify factors associated with treatment destinations.

Results

Three hundred thirty-six UAE national families with a member who sought overseas treatment during 2009–2012 were analyzed for this study regarding their most recent trip. The aim of the survey is to explore their knowledge, attitudes and perceptions. The majority of respondents were family members not the patients who had experienced the medical treatment overseas (63%). Germany was the top treatment destination (45%). The top 3 medical conditions for which people traveled overseas were cancer (17%), bone and joint diseases (16%), and heart diseases (15%). However, patients diagnosed with stroke (brain hemorrhage or clot) are more likely to travel to Germany for medical treatment while patients diagnosed with eye diseases are more likely to seek medical treatment at other destinations. Cost was a primary motivational factor for choosing a treatment destination.

Conclusion

This study addressed knowledge gap related medical travel in the UAE. The results provided evidence about perceptions when choosing treatment destinations. Medical condition and financial factors were main predictors for choosing treatment destination. The result will influence policies related financial coverage by the government. The results suggest understanding patients’ perceptions in-depth related their medical conditions and financial factors for better regulation of overseas treatment strategy in the UAE.