RESUMEN
This paper aims to review the healthcare system in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the utilisation of international accreditation to improve the quality of healthcare services and to grow its medical tourism industry. Medical tourism has contributed to the UAE's economy. Hence, the country mandated international accreditation in public and private facilities to attract patients and boost medical tourism. Accreditation is recognised worldwide as one of the main drivers for implementing quality and patient safety standards, which has sparked considerable interest in studying the effects and outcomes of such assessments. Therefore, the second aim of this paper is to review the UAE's strategic goals to improve the quality of healthcare services using international accreditation. Although striving to achieve global accreditation attracts tourists, it is essential to understand the needs and outcomes of such assessments. This review showed how the UAE healthcare sector has evolved to improve the quality of its healthcare services through accreditation. While enhancing the quality of such services and increasing the medical tourism industry provided many opportunities for expatriates to move to the UAE, the country should aim to strengthen its medical services by expanding to other Middle Eastern countries. This paper could influence policymakers implementing international accreditation in the UAE and the Middle Eastern region.
RESUMEN
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic which started in November 2019 and since then has led to multiple lockdowns aimed towards controlling the pandemic, these lockdowns contributed to major changes in individuals' lifestyles including eating patterns and restriction of physical activity due to continues house confinement. Such changes have significantly contributed to weight change, with increasing rates of obesity in the UAE, COVID-19 have posed a major concern to the country's obesity levels. Aim: To measure the prevalence and investigate the views related to weight change among adults in the UAE during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted through a self-administered online questionnaire distributed using social media platforms between February 15th and March 14th, 2021. The sample size was 439 adults in the UAE (18-59 years), collected by volunteer sampling. Analysis was done using SPSS with a significance of 5.0%. Exclusion criteria included pregnancy and bariatric surgeries history. Results: 51.1% of participants gained weight, 36.2% lost weight and 12.7% maintained their weight. Meal consumption frequency and weight gain were correlated. Consuming fast food resulted in 65.7% of participants gaining weight. 66.2% of people who lost weight during the COVID-19 pandemic did exercise. Stress management and sleeping patterns were not contributing factors to the weight change. 64.4% of the participants who were not satisfied with their weight and believed that they need to make changes in their lifestyle received no guidance from professional personnel to reach their desired weight. Conclusion: In this study, the majority of participants have witnessed an increase in weight. UAE health authorities must provide guidance and support to the population via structured nutritional programs and lifestyle awareness campaigns.
RESUMEN
Hospital accreditation has been studied comprehensively, yet few studies have observed its impacts on the burnout and work engagement levels of frontline healthcare professionals (HCPs). With a sample of 121 HCPs working in the United Arab Emirates' public hospitals, this study used a two-wave, cross-lagged panel design to examine the direct effects of job demands and job resources during hospital accreditations on burnout and work engagement and the moderating roles of psychosocial safety climate (PSC) on burnout and work engagement 3 months after accreditation. The data were analyzed using moderated structural equation modeling. As expected, we found that job demands (i.e., accreditation demands) had a direct effect on burnout, while job resources (i.e., social support) predicted work engagement. PSC moderated both relationships; however, it was not able to directly predict burnout or work engagement. Findings from this study show a positive relationship between accreditation demands and HCPs' health. Future research needs to examine the link between PSC and job demands-resources concepts before and after hospital accreditation more closely by using multiple time points to assess the causality relationships between predictor and outcome variables.
RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: The current study is the first to present the cephalometric norms in Emirati adults and aimed to investigate the differences in the angular and linear soft tissue cephalometric measures between male and female Emirati adults. METHODS: A group of 176 individuals (91 males and 85 females) with normal occlusion, proportional facial profiles were chosen, and lateral cephalograms were obtained. Standard values of 16 soft-tissue measurements were determined. Descriptive statistics were first carried out for each parameter. The Student's t-test was then performed to determine significant differences between male and female measurement means. Significant differences were determined at the 95% probability level. RESULTS: Soft tissue measurements showed that men had a greater soft tissue profile and H-angle than women. A significant difference between the genders was observed for all linear soft tissue measurements except for the lower lip to E-plane, N'-Sn' and Sn'-Stomion/Sn-Me ratio measurements. The lengths and thicknesses of the upper and lower lips independently, protrusion of both upper and lower lips, Sn'-Me' (mm) and N'-Sn'/Sn'-Me' (%) were found to be significantly different (p < 0.001) and so were the upper lip to E-plane (mm) and the soft tissue thickness of the chin measurements (p < 0.05). Except for upper and lower lip protrusion dimensions and the N'-Sn'/Sn'-Me' (%), men presented with greater linear measurements. CONCLUSION: The differences in soft-tissue cephalometric norms between men and women were established, suggesting that the orthodontist must individualize therapy using local norms as the reference.
RESUMEN
AIM: This study seeks to explore the emerging psychosocial risks of healthcare accreditation in workplaces and understand healthcare professionals' (HCPs) perceptions of work demands and the unexpected consequences such accreditation has created for them. METHODS: Twenty-seven semi-structured interviews and four focus group discussions were conducted with a variety of HCPs, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health professionals. The study was conducted in three public hospitals and a network of primary healthcare centers in the United Arab Emirates. Interviews and focus group discussions were transcribed and analyzed using a theoretical thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: The results showed that a number of psychosocial risks were prevalent during the course of accreditation. HCPs faced increased work demands during such a process, including increased working hours, increased working pace, perceived time pressure, and conflicting information. Such demands were perceived to influence not only their health but also their families as well as patients' care. In contrast, teamwork and coworker support were vital to mitigate the effect of such demands. IMPLICATIONS: This study identified emerging risks during the process of accreditation. The findings show that the process of accreditation increases work-related risks before the inspection visit. These findings have significant implications for understanding how accreditation processes increase psychosocial risks; they also consolidate the idea that appropriate systems and support for HCPs should be a priority when planning for accreditation.
