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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 COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the mental well-being of students worldwide. There is a scarcity of information on the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aimed to investigate the mental health impact of the COVID-19, including depression, anxiety and resilience among a sample of university students in the UAE. Methods A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted from September to November 2021. The patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) were used to assess depression, anxiety, and resilience. The COVID-19 impact was assessed using a list of questions. Results Only, 798 students completed the survey and were analyzed for this study. Overall, 74.8% of the students were females, 91.2% were never married, and 66.3% were UAE-nationals. Based on PHQ-9 and GAD-7 cut-off scores (≥ 10), four out of ten of the students self-reported moderate to severe depression (40.9%) and anxiety (39.1%). Significantly higher mean PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were found among students who were impacted by COVID-19 than those non-impacted (mean PHQ-9 = 9.51 ± 6.39 and 6.80 ± 6.34; p = 0.001, respectively) and (mean GAD-7 = 9.03 ± 6.00 and 8.54 ± 6.02; respectively, p p p = 0.005). Never married students had significantly higher PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores than ever-married (9.31 ± 6.37 vs. 6.93 ± 5.47, P = 0.003) and (8.89 ± 6.11 vs. 7.13 ± 5.49, respectively; p = 0.017). Conclusions The results of this study demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health of this sample of university students in terms of depression and anxiety. The results highlight the need to adopt culturally appropriate interventions for university students and focus on vulnerable groups.

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.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the mental well-being of students worldwide. There is a scarcity of information on the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aimed to investigate the mental health impact of the COVID-19, including depression, anxiety and resilience among a sample of university students in the UAE. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted from September to November 2021. The patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) were used to assess depression, anxiety, and resilience. The COVID-19 impact was assessed using a list of questions. Results: Only, 798 students completed the survey and were analyzed for this study. Overall, 74.8% of the students were females, 91.2% were never married, and 66.3% were UAE-nationals. Based on PHQ-9 and GAD-7 cut-off scores (≥ 10), four out of ten of the students self-reported moderate and severe depression (40.9%) and anxiety (39.1%). Significantly higher mean PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were found among students who were impacted by COVID-19 than those non-impacted (mean PHQ-9 of 9.51± 6.39 and 6.80 ±6.34; p= 0.001, respectively) and (mean GAD-7 of 9.03 ±6.00 and 8.54 ±6.02; respectively, p < 0.001). Female students who were impacted by COVID-19 had statistically significant higher depression and anxiety scores than the non-impacted females (mean PHQ-9 of 9.14 ±5.86 versus 6.83 ±6.25, respectively; pConclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health of this sample of university students in terms of depression and anxiety. The results highlight the need to adopt culturally appropriate interventions for university students and focus on vulnerable groups.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the mental well-being of students worldwide. There is a scarcity of information on the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aimed to investigate the mental health impact of the COVID-19, including depression, anxiety and resilience among a sample of university students in the UAE.A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted from September to November 2021. The patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) were used to assess depression, anxiety, and resilience. The COVID-19 impact was assessed using a list of questions.Only, 798 students completed the survey and were analyzed for this study. Overall, 74.8% of the students were females, 91.2% were never married, and 66.3% were UAE-nationals. Based on PHQ-9 and GAD-7 cut-off scores (≥ 10), four out of ten of the students self-reported moderate to severe depression (40.9%) and anxiety (39.1%). Significantly higher mean PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were found among students who were impacted by COVID-19 than those non-impacted (mean PHQ-9 = 9.51 ± 6.39 and 6.80 ± 6.34; p = 0.001, respectively) and (mean GAD-7 = 9.03 ± 6.00 and 8.54 ± 6.02; respectively, p 0.001). Female students who were impacted by COVID-19 had statistically significant higher depression and anxiety scores (mean PHQ-9 of 9.14 ± 5.86 vs. 6.83 ± 6.25, respectively; p 0.001) than the non-impacted females (mean GAD-7 of 9.57 ± 6.32 vs. 5.15 ± 3.88, respectively; p = 0.005). Never married students had significantly higher PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores than ever-married (9.31 ± 6.37 vs. 6.93 ± 5.47, P = 0.003) and (8.89 ± 6.11 vs. 7.13 ± 5.49, respectively; p = 0.017).The results of this study demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health of this sample of university students in terms of depression and anxiety. The results highlight the need to adopt culturally appropriate interventions for university students and focus on vulnerable groups.

In this paper, an attempt is made to discover the distribution of COVID-19 spread in different countries such as;Saudi Arabia, Italy, Argentina and Angola by specifying an optimal statistical distribution for analyzing the mortality rate of COVID-19 A new generalization of the recently inverted Topp Leone distribution, called Kumaraswamy inverted Topp–Leone distribution, is proposed by combining the Kumaraswamy-G family and the inverted Topp–Leone distribution We initially provide a linear representation of its density function We give some of its structure properties, such as quantile function, median, moments, incomplete moments, Lorenz and Bonferroni curves, entropies measures and stress-strength reliability Then, Bayesian and maximum likelihood estimators for parameters of the Kumaraswamy inverted Topp–Leone distribution under Type-II censored sample are considered Bayesian estimator is regarded using symmetric and asymmetric loss functions As analytical solution is too hard, behaviours of estimates have been done viz Monte Carlo simulation study and some reasonable comparisons have been presented The outcomes of the simulation study confirmed the efficiencies of obtained estimates as well as yielded the superiority of Bayesian estimate under adequate priors compared to the maximum likelihood estimate Application to COVID-19 in some countries showed that the new distribution is more appropriate than some other competitive models

Background Minimal data is available on the prevalence and correlates of hypertension and prehypertension in Dubai. The study aims to measure the prevalence of hypertension and pre-hypertension and the associated socio-demographic characteristics, behavioral risk factors and comorbidities among the adult population of Dubai. Methods This study used data from the Dubai Household Health Survey, 2019. A cross-sectional population survey based on a complex stratified cluster random design. The total eligible sample included 2530 adults (18+). Sociodemographic and behavioral factors were considered as independent covariates. The main study outcome variables, pre-hypertension and hypertension, were ordinal, with normotension as the reference group. Results The overall prevalence of hypertension in adults was 32.5% (38.37% in males and 16.66% in females). Prehypertension was prevalent in 29.8% of adults in Dubai (28.85% in males and 32.31% in females). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age groups, gender, occupation, and high Body Mass Index were significantly associated with a higher risk of hypertension at the level of P Conclusions This study showed a high prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension among adults in Dubai. Some socio-demographic and behavioral risk factors were correlated with prehypertension and hypertension among the studied population. Interventions aiming at increasing public awareness about such risk factors are essential.

ObjectiveTo study the prevalence of overweight and obesity and determine the associated risk factors among adults in Dubai.Design and settingA cross-sectional survey with a multistage, stratified random sampling design was conducted in the Emirate of Dubai in 2019.ParticipantsThe study included 2142 adults aged 18+ years in the Emirate of Dubai.ResultsThe overall prevalence of obesity, which was defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2, was 17.8%. The highest obesity rates were reported among women (21.6%) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-nationals (39.6%). Moreover, 39.8% of the population was overweight (BMI ≥25–29.9 kg/m2). Multivariate logistic regression showed associations between obesity and age, sex, nationality, hypertension and occupation. Obesity increases with age, with the highest risk at age group 50–59 years (OR 4.30; 95% CI 1.57 to 11.78) compared with the reference group (18–24 years). Females had a higher risk of obesity than males (OR 1.62; 95% CI 1.10 to 2.38). Compared with those in the reference group (Western and others), UAE nationals, other Arabs and Asians were more likely to be obese ((OR 2.08; 95% CI 1.18 to 3.67), (OR 3.61; 95% CI 2.41 to 5.44) and (OR 1.98; 95% CI 1.12 to 3.50), respectively). Clerical and service workers (OR 4.50; 95% CI 2.54 to 8.00) and elementary and unskilled occupation categories (OR 2.57; 95% CI 1.56 to 4.25) had higher risks of obesity than the reference group (professionals), pConclusionsObesity and overweight are highly prevalent among adults in Dubai and are remarkably associated with sociodemographic and behavioural risk factors. Comprehensive strategic initiatives are urgently needed to control obesity in the high-risk populations in the Emirate of Dubai.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, imposing a considerable burden on health systems and societies as it affects both individuals and their families and has a large impact on the economic and social development of a country. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to study the prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes among the Dubai population and associations with diabetes risk factors. Methodology: A cross-sectional Diabetes Household Survey was carried out in the Emirates of Dubai during 2017 as a complementary stage of the Dubai Household Survey, 2014, which was a randomly selected, multistage, stratified, cluster survey. The sampling technique was selected to assess the rates of undiagnosed diabetes as well as the rates of pre-diabetes through screening with HbA1c. The size of the 2017 survey sample was estimated at 300 individuals for Emirati and 300 for non-Emirati. An additional 200 individuals were added to address non-response cases. These were added to those who were identified as diabetics in the 2014 Household Health Survey and then weighted to give a representative sample for the Dubai population. Results: The study revealed that the prevalence of diabetes in Dubai among UAE nationals was 19%, and it was 14.7% for expats. Consequently, the overall prevalence of diabetes in Dubai is 15.2%. Undiagnosed diabetes was 10% in UAE nationals and 10.9% in expats. Pre-diabetes in UAE national males was lower than in females, although this pattern was not observed among expats. Younger age, normal weight, and exercise were associated with lower rates of diabetes and pre-diabetes in UAE nationals and expats. Hypertension was associated with higher rates of diabetes regardless of nationality. Conclusions: The study concluded that the prevalence of diabetes among the Dubai population is alarmingly high and that a large proportion of the population are not aware of their diagnosis. A higher prevalence of diabetes is associated with multiple factors, such as age, male gender, hypertension, higher BMI, lack of exercise, and lower level or no education, as well as a family history of diabetes mellitus. Many of these factors can be easily modified, which could lead to a decrease in the burden of the disease.

Background: The health and social burdens of diabetes mellitus (DM) are steadily increasing worldwide, reflecting the impact of urbanization, industrial transitions, and shifting to nonhealthy, sedentary life patterns’, as well as the high sugar, low-fiber food consumptions. All these factors have contributed to the global increase in the prevalence of DM and metabolic disorders. Objectives: The objective is to study the prevalence of DM among adult cohorts in Dubai and the extent of behavioral health risk factors associations. Methodology: A cross-sectional household health survey with multistage, stratified cluster random sample of 9,630 participants including 2,496 households was carried out in Dubai 2019. About 5,371 non-United Arab Emirates (UAE) national, 2,245 UAE-nationals, of different age-groups, gender, education, nationality, smoking, and marital status were included in the survey. The survey questionnaire was adapted from the one used in the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Surveys (LSMSs) and the WHO’s World Health Surveys (WHSs). Self-reported diabetes was considered as well as newly diagnosed diabetes based on HbA1C results. About 75 well-trained surveyors, 25 well-trained nurses, and other laboratory technicians conducted the survey. SPSS 21 and Stata 12 software was used for data management. Results: The data indicate that the prevalence of diabetes among Dubai Emiratis is much higher than Dubai expats (19.3 vs. 12.4% p = 0.000). The association between diabetes and age was evident regardless of nationality. Rates of diabetes were higher in males (15.4%) compared to females (11.8%) (p < 0.001). About 11.2% of those considered overweight have DM, while the prevalence is 21.5% in obese people (p = 0.000). Physical inactivity, smoking, and hypertension (HTN) were strongly associated with higher rates of DM. Regardless of nationality, lower levels of education were statistically significantly associated with the prevalence of DM (p = 0.000), while single marital status was associated with the lowest rate of DM. Conclusions: Dubai household health survey 2019 indicated that the prevalence of DM among Dubai adults was still high as an overall estimation. Higher rates of diabetes were significantly associated with Emirati nationality, older age-groups, male gender, physical inactivity, high BMI, HTN, smoking, marital status of divorced, separated or divorced as well as low educational level groups.

Background Minimal data is available on the prevalence and correlates of hypertension and prehypertension in Dubai. The study aims to measure the prevalence of hypertension and pre-hypertension and the associated socio-demographic characteristics, behavioral risk factors and comorbidities among the adult population of Dubai. Methods This study used data from the Dubai Household Health Survey, 2019. A cross-sectional population survey based on a complex stratified cluster random design. The total eligible sample included 2,530 adults (18+). Sociodemographic and behavioral factors were considered as independent covariates. The main study outcome variables, pre-hypertension and hypertension, were ordinal, with normotension as the reference group. Results The overall prevalence of hypertension in adults was 32.5% (38.37% in males and 16.66% in females). Prehypertension was prevalent in 29.8% of adults in Dubai (28.85% in males and 32.31% in females). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age groups, gender, occupation, and high Body Mass Index were significantly associated with a higher risk of hypertension at the level of p

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 aim to examine this association among the adult population in the Emirate of Dubai.Method: This study used data from the Dubai Household Health Survey (DHHS), 2019. In this survey, 2,247 families were interviewed and only adults aged 18+ were included for the analysis. The self-reported chronic disease was defined as reporting any chronic morbidities occurred during the past year that required ongoing medical attention and medical care. Sociodemographic characteristics covariates were age group, marital status, nationality, gender, education and working status. The quasi-binomial distribution was used to identify factors associated with chronic disease.Results: The prevalence of chronic diseases 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 a chronic disease more than the other groups. In the regression analysis, age (years) was the strongest predictor (OR 3.6, 95% CI: 2.8, 4.7). Males were more likely to report a chronic disease (OR 1.61, 95% CI: 1.277, 2.035). Unmarried individuals were less likely to report a chronic disease (OR 0.11, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.70). However, older individuals who were unmarried were more likely to report a chronic disease compared to the reference group (OR 2.8, 95% CI: 1.2, 6.1). Emiratis were more likely to report a chronic disease (OR 2.08, 95% CI: 1.62, 2.67).Conclusion: The self-reported rate of chronic disease was shown to be higher in older individuals, males, Emiratis, and older individuals who were unmarried. This is one of the few studies related to chronic diseases in Dubai. It is important to translate the current study findings into policies to help reduce the incidence of chronic diseases in Dubai and to minimize the negative impact of these illnesses, particularly among those with the sociodemographic risk factors identified here. In addition, healthcare services and resources should be reallocated to the population groups with greater health needs.

Background: WHO estimates that seasonal influenza may result in 290 000-650 000 deaths each year due to respiratory diseases alone. In addition, affected more than 10% of total population annually worldwide, Seasonal influenza is highly contagious disease; spreads easily, with rapid transmission in crowded areas including schools and nursing homes. Objectives: To study incidence rates, trends and patterns of seasonal influenza among Dubai population for the period of 2017-2019 and some of its associated factors. Materials and Subjects: A retrospective records review study was carried out using a convenience sample of 29,158 confirmed seasonal influenza cases reported in Emirate of Dubai for the period 2017-2019. All age groups, genders, nationalities, occupations, education and seasons were considered as associated factors. Findings: In terms of the socio-demographic aggregates, the results showed that males were more to report 53.42% seasonal influenza cases and 50% of the cases were reported among children 15 years and under. As for the nationalities, 54.37% of the seasonal influenza reported by Asian groups, while 14.59% of the seasonal flu cases were among The Emirati population. As per occupation status, 30.74% of total seasonal influenza cases were among students in Dubai and 5.22% among housewives. On the other hand, the study revealed that 84.53% of the total seasonal influenza cases during 2017- 2019 were handled at outpatient level, yet the remaining percent required hospital admission. Incidence rate per 100,000 population were increased from 2017 through out 2019 (168 and 466 per 100,000 population, respectively). The study revealed that 30.74% of total seasonal influenza were students in Dubai, 84.53% of the total seasonal influenza cases during 2017-2019 were managed at outpatient. yet 15.47% were sever enough cases to be admitted and treated at inpatient level of different health care facilities in Dubai. Incidence among Egyptian was 557/100,000, while among Emirates, 325 /100,000. The present study revealed a seasonality pattern of seasonal influenza cases in Dubai in 2017-2019 as noted from the monthly distributions of cases, where the highest (21.4%) reported in November, followed by 18.2% in December, and the least was in July (2%). The study showed that 30.74% of total seasonal influenza were students in Dubai, 84.53% of the total seasonal influenza cases during 2017-2019 were managed at outpatient. yet 15.47% were sever enough cases to be admitted and treated at inpatient level of different health care facilities in Dubai. Incidence among Egyptian was 557/100000, while among Emirates, 325 /100000, Incidence rate of seasonal influenza 2017-2019 according to age distributions showed that 30.7% among students, and 7.8% among children preschool age, and 5.22% among housewives. The present study showed that the incidence rate of seasonal influenza in Dubai in 2017-2019 as per moth distributions was the highest, 21.4% in November followed by 18.2% in December, and the least was 2% in July. Conclusions: Incidence rates of seasonal influenza in the Emirates of Dubai keep increasing during the last three years, the highest rates was among children under 15 years old, followed by the elderly group as well. The incidence rate of seasonal influenza shows a seasonality pattern with the highest rates reported from October to end of February annually.

In December 2019, Corona-Virus “COVID-19” was started in Wuhan, China, On March 11, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) described COVID-19 as a pandemic...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop a risk score model for predicting hypertension specific to the population of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to facilitate prevention and early intervention.METHODS: A retrospective analysis of data from the Dubai Household Health Survey 2019 was conducted. Demographic and physical parameters, as well as blood glucose levels, were included in the data. The risk factors for hypertension were identified using bivariate analysis. A risk score model was developed using the enter method, where all significant predictors of hypertension in bivariate analyses were entered in a single step with the primary outcome of hypertension status (yes/no). The model was validated internally by splitting the data into Emirati and non-Emirati populations.RESULTS: A total of 2,533 subjects were studied. The significant risk factors for hypertension identified were male sex, older age (≥40 years), education level, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidaemia. The model showed a high discrimination ability between individuals with and without hypertension, with an area under the curve of 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75 to 0.79), excellent sensitivity (81.0%; 95% CI, 71.9 to 88.2) and moderate specificity (56.0%; 95% CI, 45.7 to 65.9).CONCLUSIONS: The model developed by this study is simple, convenient, and based on readily available demographic and medical characteristics. This risk score model could support initial hypertension screening and provide an effective tool for targeted lifestyle counselling and prevention programs.

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.

In this paper numerical studies for the variable-order fractional delay differential equations are presented. Adams-Bashforth-Moulton algorithm has been extended to study this problem, where the derivative is defined in the Caputo variable-order fractional sense. Special attention is given to prove the error estimate of the proposed method. Numerical test examples are presented to demonstrate utility of the method. Chaotic behaviors are observed in variable-order one dimensional delayed systems.