Introduction

Introduction: Cancer is a growing health problem globally. The late diagnosis of a significant portion of the cases, especially in the developing world, is still a key factor in increasing mortality. Cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and the third in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to local data. The incidence is expected to double in the next two decades due to population growth, urbanization, increased life expectancy, and a westernized lifestyle. The mortality-to-incidence ratio in the UAE is 0.39, which is comparable to that in the developed world (National Cancer Registry (UAE). The Statistics and Research Department—National Disease Registry Section. Year List. 2021, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011. Report. https://smartapps.moh.gov.ae/ords). Every country is required to focus on the configuration of resources and infrastructure in a well-organized, well-designed plan to regulate cancer care delivery close to home in an equitable, standardized, and reproducible pattern.The Cancer Burden: Because the UAE is one of the fastest-growing economies, the incidence of both malignant and nonmalignant diseases has increased. The number of reported cases and cancer mortality have been rising in the UAE over the years, despite trials for the implementation of screening and early detection programs that appear to be far from reaching the target coverage of the intended population.Cancer Control Plan: A comprehensive and effective control plan requires accurate data, a reliable cancer registry, and periodic monitoring and evaluation. The UAE cancer plan is being prepared according to the WHO and EMRO framework recommendations, with clear objectives and defined goals. The objectives are to fight cancer, reduce its incidence, decrease its related mortality, and improve outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients. The plan highlights the importance of improving public health awareness, cancer prevention, early screening, precise diagnosis, updated evidence-based treatment, multidisciplinary care, performance evaluation, training of the workforce, and research.The Future: There is a well-known need to achieve and maintain excellence. We must improve and broaden the cancer registry. We need to invest our efforts and dedication in preventive oncology. It is empirical to incorporate knowledge, technological development, and new medications as per international data and guidelines based on trials. We must strive to develop pathways and guidelines and implement them while continuously monitoring performance with key performance indicators (KPIs). There is a need to broaden cancer care efforts with the involvement of all stakeholders. We need to deliver cancer services with equity and affordability. It is essential to induct a qualified workforce, improve their knowledge through training and continuing education, and monitor their performance. To stay on track, preparation and international accreditation from well-known world organizations are required.Conclusions: The UAE economy is growing rapidly with a substantial burden of cancer, which is expected to increase with consequent morbidity and mortality. The implementation of a comprehensive and effective cancer control plan is therefore needed to fight cancer effectively. The UAE cancer plan is prepared with well-defined objectives and defined targets. The objectives are to decrease cancer incidence, restrict morbidity and mortality, improve outcomes, and augment the quality of life for cancer patients. We have to incorporate ever-growing knowledge, ongoing technological development, and newly approved medications as per international data and guidelines. We should also endeavor to develop local clinical pathways and guidelines and continuously assess our cancer services. We need to build up cancer care initiatives with the active participation of all stakeholders to enable the delivery of cancer services with equity and affordability, keeping in mind the issues of cost-effectiveness and appropriate distribution of resources. We need to integrate and link primary health care, secondary care hospitals, tertiary referral centers, and private advanced cancer care centers. We should focus on development and invest in preventive oncology by boosting education, screening, and early detection. The delivery of quality care and outcomes can be improved by focusing on all aspects of the service offering.

Background With the global outbreak of coronavirus in 2019 (COVID-19), governments across the globe faced the challenge of outlining policy capacity to contain the spread of infection and overcome human tragedy. To overcome this global public health emergency, the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) used a rigorous approach to mitigate the consequences of this non-communicable pandemic through effective approaches. Therefore, the study aimed to explore the role of the leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in controlling COVID-19. It figured out the practical policy steps and outcomes. Methods This study used a comparative analysis approach to observe the policies and strategies initiated by the UAE and China governments to control COVID-19-associated public health crises in the UAE from September 2020 to March 2022. Results The study reported outcomes or improvements as a result of UAE government-based policies or interventions. The UAE government used recent technology in the healthcare sector to attain maximum benefits during the pandemic. Further, the comparative analysis of integrated management policy systems is discussed between China and UAE. Conclusions The study concludes that the use of appropriate and proactive approaches by the UAE government and healthcare authorities can be used as a commendable model for the rest of the world to be followed to deal with any public health crises.

Soil and groundwater contamination due to waste disposal may pose an increasing public health threat in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) if measures are not taken to improve waste management practices and prevent exposure to wastes disposed of improperly in the past. The UAE currently has one of the highest rates of solid waste generation per capita of any country in the world. In addition, waste disposal in the UAE historically has been inadequately controlled, with wastes of a wide variety disposed of in open, unlined dump sites in the desert. Chemicals can leach from uncontrolled waste disposal sites and contaminate soil and the underlying groundwater. The soil in much of the UAE is silty and sandy with low cation exchange capacity. This soil type is highly permeable, and thus contaminants that leach from waste sites have the potential to migrate rapidly and contaminate large areas. At the time this project was carried out, no data were available on the nature and amounts of hazardous chemicals found in soil and groundwater in the UAE from waste disposal sites, but the types of chemicals present due to releases from waste disposal sites are likely to be similar to those found in groundwater contaminated from past waste disposal practices in other developed countries. These chemicals are associated with a range of effects, from cancer to neurological and reproductive effects to suppression of the immune system. Current information is not sufficient to assess the burden of disease due to soil and groundwater contamination from waste sites in the UAE. At present, this disease burden is likely to be small because of the small size of the potentially exposed population. However, given the plans to invest in developing the Western Region, it would be prudent for the UAE to begin to collect the information needed to assess risks from these sites to the current population and to future residents. Our primary recommendation is a two-part process that first would provide approximate estimates of the potential burden of disease from individual waste disposal sites and then develop detailed risk assessments for sites showing a significant health risk potential. The information needed for the first part of this process should be relatively easy to obtain, with the primary effort required for additional visual inspections of a selected number of waste sites. Once these basic site inspections and preliminary risk assessments are completed, the UAE government will have greatly improved estimates of which waste sites may be cause for concern, allowing it to focus on sites that have significant risk potential.

Results from the United Arab Emirates 2022 report card on physical activity for children and adolescents

This paper assesses the strategies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to instill leadership values and to encourage youth to take leadership roles as a solution for the future sustainable economic growth. In recent years, the UAE government has stepped up initiatives to encourage the Emirati youth to become leaders, as seen in the establishment of, among others, the UAE Youth Global Initiative, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the Emirates Youth Council, the National Youth Agenda, and the UAE Youth Programme launched under the UAE Government Leaders Programme (UAEGLP). Such steps are accompanied by country’s support for high quality education on a tertiary level available to every citizen willing to pursue their education. This article examines in what ways such attempts at social engineering may provide solutions to the country’s future needs and serve as a model abroad. The research was conducted using data collected from governmental agencies, and interviews with representatives of youth government initiatives.

Public-sector green procurement in the United Arab Emirates: Innovation capability and commitment to change

Background: Many patients with rheumatic diseases are immunosuppressed and take forms of immunomodulator medication. Hence, these patients might be at a heightened risk of Covid-19 and have special concerns in regard to vaccines, such as safety and efficacy. Vaccines have been available for the population of UAE as of January 2021, these being Pfizer (the United States and Europe), Sinopharm (China), and AstraZeneca (United Kingdom). The aim of our paper was to examine the rate of vaccine uptake among our patients with rheumatic conditions in the United Arab Emirates. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed among patients with rheumatic diseases attending a rheumatology specialised clinic in the United Arab Emirates. We collected data on 149 consecutive patients who were seen during a one-month period from 10/06/2021 to 10/07/2021 in Dubai. Results: The mean age of the patients was 45.9 +/- 41.3. The majority of the patients had underlying rheumatic diseases (86.9%), the rest having conditions such as soft tissue pain or to rule out rheumatic conditions. 48.5% were taking immunomodulators. 41.7% of respondents had other chronic diseases. It was also found that 18.9% had Covid-19 previously, all of whom recovered, with the average duration of the illness being 11 days. 99.1% of individuals reported that receiving the Covid-19 vaccine was extremely important, and 95.0% had already received the vaccination. Their reasoning for receiving the vaccination varied from medical advice (17.5%), general worry about infection/ reinfection of Covid-19 (65.3%), in order to travel (8.4%), employee requirement (5.6%), and other reasons (3.2%). Specifically, 48.3% chose the Pfizer vaccine, 39.8% had Sinopharm, and 11.9% had AstraZeneca. These decisions on which vaccine to choose were influenced by the availability of the vaccine (35.1%), medical advice (16.9%), effectiveness (15.5%), safety and side effect profile (18.2%), age restrictions (2.7%), experience/ advice from friends and family (8.1%) and other reasons (3.4%). Conclusion: Overall, an overwhelming majority of our patients (95.0%) with rheumatic diseases in the specialised muscular-skeletal clinic in the UAE have received the Covid-19 vaccine. This reflects good public health service messaging and concentrated efforts from the medical community, UAE government, and the patient’s rheumatologists.

BackgroundThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a rapidly developing high-income country that was formed from the union of seven emirates in 1971. The UAE has experienced unprecedented population growth coupled with increased rates of chronic diseases over the past few decades. Healthcare workers are the core foundation of the health system, especially for chronic care conditions, and the UAE health workforce needs to be fully prepared for the increased rates of chronic diseases in the adult population. Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate in terms of land mass and population size, and the purpose of this paper was to assess how the health system has been using the Chronic Care Model to improve its capacity to reach out to all patients in the population.Case presentationThe Abu Dhabi health workforce has twice the number of doctors (52.4 vs. 23.2 per 10 000 population) and nurses (134.7 vs. 50.4 per 10 000 population) compared to the entire UAE health workforce. In addition to an overreliance on expatriate workers, there is an excess of some specializations such as general medicine and gynecology and a severe undersupply of other specialties including trauma and injury, and medical oncology. The digital infrastructure and skills of the health workforce need to be improved to minimize the proportion of the appointment time required to complete administrative tasks for a health insurance system and maximize the doctor-patient face-to-face interaction time for consultation and lifestyle counseling.ConclusionsA greater emphasis needs to be placed on developing self-management support strategies using a combination of nurse health educators and community-based patient-led health programs. The UAE Vision 2021 includes developing a world-class healthcare system, and full implementation of the Chronic Care Model seems to facilitate the detailed planning and preparation of healthcare services and workers required to achieve this goal.

The concept of integrating technology and the application of the World Wide Web to bridge the gap between people and the government and the reduction of bureaucratic barriers has become a popular trend in the Middle East as many Arab nations have now developed portals that extend e-services to their users (Al-Nuaim, 2009). United Arab Emirates (UAE), in particular, has been participating in and developing models of E-government to facilitate its citizens with high quality service (Dutta et al., 2011). Previously known as e-government the name of the department that handled E-government initiatives in Dubai was changed to Dubai smart government starting from June 30, 2013. The new name was given by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai. The new name was consistent with the smart government initiative as it showed the government's outlook on the future (Gulf News, 2013). Instigation of E-government programs is also part of the same vision, E-government programs are aimed at increasing the competence and efficacy of government and governance system. The E-government programs aim to assist in policy making, governance and service delivery. One of the major postulates of the strategy of the UAE Government is to enhance and improve the delivery of public services and become more citizen centric. They aspire to meet international standards of service quality and service delivery to their citizens and the major focus of government is on improving standards of education, health-care, judicial system, innovation inculcation, and sustainability and government services. The research problem that this paper aims to address and explore is formed on the grounds that there is less usage of transformation E-government in UAE's public sector and there is still more room for improvement. The public sector must adopt and engage citizens through the use of e-services. Henceforth, the objective of this study shall be based on the investigation of barriers and problems responsible for the failure of the implementation of projects pertaining to Dubai E- government in UAE. Until such time that the barriers and hurdles have been identified and removed there would be no chance of achieving the full success in E-government implementation. As a result of this investigation, the study aspires to develop a guiding framework that addresses such barriers in future projects. The secondary literature and academic journals contain a vast amount of research on various barriers and CSF however unfortunately they are not specific to UAE or the GCC region, creating a vacuum in the knowledge base for UAE and other gulf countries. There is a need to understand that UAE, being a multicultural melting pot is different from other countries, while it has a strong Arab cultural rooted in its base at the same time it has adopted western practices of diversity and inclusion. The research aims to investigate the current situation of E-government in U.A.E and examine the barriers to successful implementation of E- government in U.A.E public sector with specific reference to Government employee users. To achieve the above aims, the following objectives have therefore been considered. i. To identify, examine and measure the extent and significance of barriers hindering the implementation of e-government in public sector in Dubai. ii. To develop a road map for successful implementation of e-government in UAE public sector.

In comparison to the other Arabic counties, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has positively and effectively progressed, in a short space of time in educational innovation. A brief overview of the United Arab Emirates and the structure of the educational system will be presented and a more detailed analysis on how the usage of Information Technology in Educational Management (ITEM) has developed over a decade will be explained. ITEM utilization has grown enormously in UAE; various modifications within the educational system have been done, specifically towards innovation, modernization and school management decentralization. Nonetheless, a certain improvement and maturity has been reached in using information technology in school management. Two major School information systems are accredited in the UAE government (public) schools. The first School information systems (SIS) is used by the Ministry of Education (MOE), and the other, Enterprise School Information systems (eSIS) is used by Abu Dhabi the capital of UAE. The paper will focus on the SIS which is implemented recently by the MOE and then conclude the challenges, future ambitions and issues facing MOE school information systems.

Subject area International business and/or strategic management. Study level/applicability This case is useful for undergraduate and postgraduate level students majoring in international business management and/or strategic management. Case overview Etihad Airways was established in 2003, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the UAE government as sole owner. It is the national carrier of UAE with Abu Dhabi as its centre of operations. Etihad is recognized as a fast-growing player in the aviation industry, and has become one of the dominant international players in the industry in a relatively short time. Etihad's fleet now contains more than 67 planes, with more than 1,300 flights per week to diverse destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. The company describes its business strategy as “sustainable growth”. Looking through a practitioner's lens, strategic partnerships have been the critical activities through which Etihad has delivered its strategy. The purpose of this case study is therefore to elaborate on its major and successful partnerships and the critical benefits of these. Secondary data were collected from credible sources including academic studies, relevant Etihad publications and industry reports published by official aviation associations. Expected learning outcomes Students will be able to understand the theory of strategic partnerships, their roles and benefits and critically evaluate the pre-staging “requirements” of such partnerships. In this case, the specific learning outcome of it is to help students to understand the importance of successful strategic partnerships for Etihad Airlines and how partnership strategies can improve the performance of Etihad Airlines. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

To gain a better understanding of some of the factors that may be contributing to the shortage of national nurses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Approximately 3% of the UAE nursing workforce are currently nationals, which explains the UAE dependency on transient expatriate nurses. Even though Emirati women have been recently empowered to join the national workforce, not many have joined the nursing profession. Several factors may be contributing, in varying degrees, to this predicament. The socio-economic factors as well as the cultural and religious customs that have shaped the country and its people are examined. Hence, the historical background to the establishment of the UAE, women in Islam, the first nurse in Islam, the development of nursing in the UAE and the Emirates Nursing Association are considered. Factors contributing to the limited number of UAE nationals in the nursing profession include, but are not limited to: the low status of nursing in the UAE; the variations in basic nursing programmes in the country; the lack of Arabic educational resources; the affluent life style of UAE nationals as well as the strict cultural norms and religious values by which they live. As the need to nationalize the nursing workforce in the UAE is paramount, these issues and other perceived barriers from the perspective of Emirati nurses need to be explored and addressed.

Introduction:Breast cancer incidence in males is rare. MBC remains understudied and treatment recommendations are generally extrapolated from larger trials in women. Characteristics and incidence of the disease vary widely between countries. Tawam Hospital has been the first and the major provider of cancer care in The UAE for over four decades. The epidemiology and characteristics of MBC in The UAE is rather unknown to date. Objective:This study was conducted to investigate the incidence, clinical presentation, pathological characteristics, and treatment patterns of MBC at the major cancer center in the UAE, Tawam Hospital. This will provide a better insight in local features and enables comparison of The UAE data with other parts of the world. Method: We retrospectively analyzed data of MBC treated at The Tawam Hospital between 2000 and 2020. Information was obtained from The Tawam Hospital Cancer Registry and analyzed using excel software.Results:A total of 28 patients with MBC were identified. Male breast cancer consists of 0.75% (28 out of 3733 cases) of all breast cancer cases diagnosed between 2000 - 2020 at the Tawam Hospital. The clinical and the pathological characteristics of these patients are provided in table 1. Only 10 (35%) patients had germline genetics testing and 2 had pathogenic mutation in BRCA1/2 genes. All of the patients presented with palpable mass. Majority of the patients had Grade 2 (57%) or Grade 3 (29%) disease and 15 (54%) had positive lymph nodes at the time of diagnosis. Of the 28 patients, 2 presented with de novo metastatic disease and 26 presented with localized disease. Out of these 26 patients, 22(85%) underwent modified radical mastectomy, 4(15%) had lumpectomy , 17(65%) had axillary lymph node dissection, 9(35%) had sentinel lymph node biopsy, 16(61.5%) had adjuvant radiation therapy, 16(61.5%) had adjuvant chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, 7(27%) had adjuvant hormonal therapy only and 3(11.5%) did not receive adjuvant systemic therapy (2 refused and 1 with hormonal receptor negative DCIS). All of the patients who received hormonal therapy had tamoxifen. about 60% of the patients with localized disease received multimodality treatment including all surgery, radiation therapy and systemic therapy.Recurrent metastatic disease developed in 19% (5 out 26) of the patients. Out of 7 MBC with de novo and recurrent metastatic disease, 3 had bone metastases only, 3 had bone and visceral metastases and 1 was with locoregional recurrence.Conclusion:Our cohort indicates that the majority of the patients with MBC presented with higher grade, cT2 and above and node positive disease indicating the need for better awareness for early detection. Majority of the patients with localized disease received multimodality treatments. Patient outcome of this cohort will be presented at the meeting. Table 1.Clinical and Pathological Characteristics of Male with Breast cancer (N=28)N(%)N(%)Median age51 (33 - 65)–Hormonal receptor/HER-2 status+/+5 (18)Clinical stage04 (14)+/-21 (75)I2 (7)-/+1 (3.5)II12 (43)-/-1 (3.5)III8 (29)GradeI4 (14)IV2 (7)II16 (57)Clinical node statusN013 (46.2)III8 (29)N17 (26)HistologyDCIS24 (86)N24 (14)IDC4 (14)N34 (14)Clinical T statusT0/is4 (14)T13 (11)T215 (54)T32 (7)T44 (14) Citation Format: Aydah Al-Awadhi, Ali Yousif, Nahed Balalaa, Ernest Luiten, Danijela Jelovac. Incidence, clinicopathological features and treatment patterns of male breast cancer (MBC) in a high-volume cancer center in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-23-02.

Healthcare Industry has taken a center-stage in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Which affected many countries globally to rethink and strengthen its healthcare infrastructure. The student nurses experienced various emotions during the pandemic period which may impact their attitude towards choosing nursing as their career choice. For that, this study aimed to determine the nursing students’ attitude towards the chosen nursing profession and its image during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, to investigate the impact factors that may affect the students’ attitude on choosing nursing as their career choice in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A descriptive quantitative, cross-sectional design was used. A quantitative survey instrument was developed, piloted, factor analyzed, checked for reliability, validity and implemented. The survey was conducted in a nursing institution in the UAE and received 372 responses. In general, there seems to be a positive attitude towards choosing the nursing profession as a career choice and the nursing profession image. In conclusion, this study showed that the pandemic has not affected the nursing students negatively on the attitude towards their career-choice. The students’ families and the government of UAE have been very supportive during the pandemic.

The circular economy is an economic system designed to rebuild capital, enhance resource returns, and maximize their utility by minimizing waste through the recycling of products and raw materials at all stages. This approach represents a fundamentally different way of conducting business. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is rapidly advancing toward the adoption of a circular economy model. In collaboration with the World Economic Forum for the Middle East and North Africa, the UAE government has signed the "Accelerating the Circular Economy 360" initiative, positioning itself as one of the first countries globally to support this initiative. By implementing the circular economy model in its urban areas, the UAE is projected to realize savings of up to $28 billion from 2020 to 2030. The National Energy Strategy targets an increase in the contribution of clean energy to the national energy mix to 50% by 2050 and aims to enhance consumption efficiency by 40%. This strategy encompasses projects for converting waste to energy and transforming industrial waste into resources for other industries within the framework of the circular economy.