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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: 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.

BACKGROUND The world as we know it changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hope has emerged with the development of new vaccines against the disease. However, many factors hinder vaccine uptake and lead to vaccine hesitancy. Understanding the factors affecting vaccine hesitancy and how to assess its prevalence have become imperative amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine hesitancy scale (VHS), developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, has been modified to the adult VHS (aVHS) and validated in English and Chinese. To our knowledge, no available aVHS has been designed or validated in Arabic or French. OBJECTIVE The aim of this research is to translate the aVHS from its original English language to Arabic and French and validate the translations in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region. METHODS The study will follow a cross-sectional design divided into 5 phases. In phase 1, the original aVHS will be forward-translated to Arabic and French, followed by backward translation to English. An expert committee will review and rate all versions of the translations. Expert agreement will then be measured using the Cohen kappa coefficient (k). In phase 2, the translated aVHS will be pilot-tested with 2 samples of participants (n=100): a group that speaks both Arabic and English and another that speaks French and English. Participants’ responses to the English version will also be collected. In phase 3, responses will then be compared. Descriptive statistics and paired t tests or one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation coefficient will be used in the preliminary validation. In phase 4, prefinal versions (Arabic and French) will be tested with larger sample sizes of Arabic speakers (n=1000) and French speakers (n=1000). Sociodemographic information and vaccination status will be collected and used for further analysis. In phase 5, the scale's statistical reliability and internal consistency will be measured using Cronbach alpha. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) will be used to examine the model fit resulting from the EFA. ANOVA and regression models will be constructed to control for confounders. All data will be electronically collected. RESULTS As of January 2022, the scale had been translated to Arabic and French and was undergoing the process of back translation. All data collection tools have been prepared (ie, sociodemographics, vaccination status, and open-ended questions) and are ready to go into their electronic formats. We expect to reach the desired sample size in this phase by June 2022. CONCLUSIONS This study will provide researchers with a validated tool to assess adult vaccine hesitancy within populations that speak Arabic and/or French and provide a road map to scale translation and ensure cross-cultural adaptation. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT PRR1-10.2196/36928

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.