Background: Digital health significantly affects healthcare delivery. Moreover, empirical studies on the utilization of telehealth in Dubai are limited. Accordingly, this study examines the utilization of telehealth services in Dubai Health Authority (DHA) facilities and the factors associated with telehealth appointment completion and turnaround time. Methods: This cross-sectional study examines patients who used telehealth services in DHA from 2020 through 2021 using 241,822 records. A binary logistic regression model was constructed to investigate the association between appointment turnaround time as a dependent variable and patient and visit characteristics as independent variables. Results: Of the total scheduled telehealth visits, more than three-quarter (78.55%) were completed. Older patients, non-Emiratis, patients who had their visits in 2020, patients who had video visits, and those who sought family medicine as a specialty had a shorter turnaround time to receive their appointment. Conclusions: This study identifies several characteristics associated with the turnaround time. Moreover, technological improvements focusing on specialties that can readily be addressed through telehealth and further research in this domain will improve service provision and support building an evidence-base in the government sector of the emirate of Dubai.

Background: The rising incidence of COVID-19 cases is undeniably having a profound impact on the physiological and psychological welfare of individuals. The incident had the potential to significantly affect an individual’s quality of life, social interactions, and occupational performance. The study explored the experiences of individuals who recovered from COVID-19 and the impact of their illness on their psychological and overall well-being. Methods: A qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted in Oman among 15 patients aged 20 to 60 years, who had been hospitalized at Royal Hospital with moderate to severe symptoms and signs of COVID-19. An in-depth interview was used to collect data. Thematic analysis was carried out to analyze the data using the Braun and Clarke model framework for the analysis. Results: Three themes emerged from the study: (1) The impact of COVID-19 on the survivors; (2) factors that improved patients’ recovery; (3) lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic. A recent study found important intrinsic and extrinsic factors that helped COVID-19 patients recover quickly. Conclusions: COVID-19 impacted the individuals’ physiological and psychological health. The findings can inform Oman’s psychological support services and raise awareness of the virus’s psychological impact on mental health. The study may help to design a tailored psychological intervention to improve the mental well-being of COVID-19 survivors for better experience and quality of life.

Introduction: Each year, millions of patients around the world seek medical care abroad. Medical travel is becoming very common in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC) due to many motivational factors. It has been observed that the rate of cancer incidence is growing at an alarmingly high rate in Arab countries. In addition, as per the literature, cancer seems to be one of the top medical conditions for patients from the GCC to seek healthcare overseas. There are many factors associated with cancer patients seeking treatment overseas. However, unfortunately, there are very few studies that discuss the risks and challenges associated with the medical travel experience for those patients.Objective: We conducted a systematic review to summarize the evidence related to the complications and challenges associated with the medical travel experience for oncology patients in the Arab world.Materials and Methods: This systematic review was guided by PRISMA. PubMed was used as a search database by using a combination of medical travel, complications, and cancer keywords for publications which yielded 76 articles. Four coders independently determined eligibility based on PICOS and then extracted information from 14 articles. The resulting articles are based on three main categories, i.e., primary, and secondary data collection, and review articles.Results: Of the total 76 articles, only 14 were included because they met the criteria. 62 articles were excluded because of irrelevance of the title, abstract, and insufficient data. Although this systematic review aimed to look at the medical complications that may arise from the medical travel experience for oncology patients, other challenges were found. The challenges reported can be grouped into the following themes: (a) financial and economic aspects, (b) medical care aspects, (c) social and cultural aspects.Conclusion: Overall, more research studies are required in the Arab world for cancer patients treated overseas. The existence of such information around this topic will help in improving policies and strategies related to medical travel for the different stakeholders involved in the medical travel market. Moreover, these studies will not only aid in improving the quality of care for cancer patients who are engaging in medical travel, but they will also help in overcoming the challenges associated with medical travel experience for cancer patients at the different stages of the experience.

Background: Digital health significantly affects healthcare delivery. Moreover, empirical studies on the utilization of telehealth in Dubai are limited. Accordingly, this study examines the utilization of telehealth services in Dubai Health Authority (DHA) facilities and the factors associated with telehealth appointment completion and turnaround time. Methods: This cross-sectional study examines patients who used telehealth services in DHA from 2020 through 2021 using 241,822 records. A binary logistic regression model was constructed to investigate the association between appointment turnaround time as a dependent variable and patient and visit characteristics as independent variables. Results: Of the total scheduled telehealth visits, more than three-quarter (78.55%) were completed. Older patients, non-Emiratis, patients who had their visits in 2020, patients who had video visits, and those who sought family medicine as a specialty had a shorter turn-around time to receive their appointment. Conclusions: This study identifies several characteristics associated with the turn-around time. Moreover, technological improvements focusing on specialties that can readily be addressed through telehealth and further research in this domain will improve service provision and support building an evidence base.

In Middle Eastern countries, cultural traditions, values, and beliefs play significant roles in decision making about cancer care, prevention, diagnosis, and management. As cultural factors are involved at every stage of cancer care from prevention to palliative care and they pose challenges that can influence cancer related behaviours in Middle Eastern countries, in cancer care, these factors should be addressed in all efforts to prevent and control the disease. This chapter focuses on a number of cultural factors relating to cancer care including family, family values and dynamics, religion and spiritual needs, stigma and social values, taboos about death and dying, and communication with patients. The reflections contained in this chapter offer insights into some of the ways the culture of Middle Eastern countries influences cancer care and how it affects the patients’ and their families’ attitudes and choices regarding this care. Reflections on these cultural perspectives suggest that if cancer care in Middle Eastern countries is to be improved, health professionals need to be aware of, and be sensitive to cultural factors and balance respect for patients’ cultural perspectives with the need to provide effective care and improve patient outcomes.

Background and Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare systems shifted to the utilization of telehealth to ensure the continuity of healthcare services (1,2,3). Hence, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the government entity that oversees healthcare services in the Emirate of Dubai,...