This open access book is a one-stop shop for all stakeholders interested in a deep understanding of the status quo of the healthcare sector in the UAE across all of its seven emirates and various private and public health systems.The book goes through the evolving journey of healthcare policy, delivery, and innovation celebrating success stories over the years while also highlighting persisting unmet needs. The book is authored by experts from various sectors in the UAE with representation from primary and specialist care and prevention, public health policy, regulatory affairs and reimbursement structures, clinical research, health informatics, health economics, medical education, training, and licensing. Particular topics of interest and unique to the UAE are also discussed, such as medical tourism. The chapters address specific disciplines' challenges and provide insights into future directions and roadmaps for desired change—an overall outlook for the UAE healthcare sector for the next 50 years. This is the first comprehensive book that addresses healthcare broadly in the UAE and is endorsed by the prestigious Emirates Oncology Society and the Emirates Medical Association.
This is an Open Access book. This book is a must-have for healthcare providers and researchers, public health specialists and policy makers who are interested and involved in cancer care in the Arab world. The Arab world consists of 22 countries, which are members of the Arab League and spanning over 13,132,327 km2 with over 423,000,000 population. Over the past few decades, the Arab world has witnessed a swift evolution in healthcare provision. Nonetheless, Arab countries have considerable variability in economic capabilities, resource allocation, and intellectual talent that inevitably reflect on access to modern cancer care and prevention. This book is authored by experts from the Arab world who provide vital information on cancer statistics and risk factors, available clinical care pathways and infrastructure, and prevention programs in their individual countries. The chapters also address specific challenges in each country and insights into future directions to achieve optimal care with conventional and novel diagnostics and therapies to keep up with the era of precision medicine. Special topics of interest and unique to the Arab world are also discussed, such as out of the country's medical tourism for cancer care and cancer care during war and conflict. Other special chapters include: Cancer research in the Arab world, Radiation therapy in Arab World and Pediatric Oncology in the Arab World Cancer in the Arab World is the first comprehensive book that addresses cancer care in depth in all Arab countries and it is endorsed by the prestigious Emirates Oncology Society.
This is a rare compilation of clinically focused chapters on the practice of oncology in more than 25 countries and areas around the world that experience ongoing or intensifying ethnic, religious, and nationalistic conflict. Each chapter is written by an internationally respected local physician or nurse. Topics include the relationship between local culture and the local practice of mainstream modern medicine, critical clinical issues faced by local physicians, and options for when and how to incorporate palliative care. The book ends with chapters on the United States’ current initiatives on promoting cancer care training in these regions, and another on clinical concepts for Western clinicians undertaking oncology practice in emerging countries. The audience includes oncologists around the world: those practicing medicine in similarly extreme circumstances; Western oncologists organizing or preparing for medical missions; and Western oncologists who wish to learn from the experiences of oncologists who practice under radically different conditions.
Cancer is a global burden with more than 18 million diagnosed and an estimate of 10 million deaths in 2020 worldwide. Cancer continues to be a major and growing problem in conflict affected areas too. The incidence of cancer is expected to rise significantly in those countries compared to the rest of the world. Conflict, massive migration and displacement has put a tremendous pressure on all health care systems and health economy which halted improvement in many cancer care in majority of the countries. Countries affected by conflict like Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, Yemen, Latin America and others has led to destruction of the whole countries healthcare infrastructure including health care facilities, diagnostic facilities, and unavailability of drugs and loss of health care professionals due to death, migration or disabilities. This lead to inequitable access to care, lack of prevention, loss of screening programs, delay in diagnosis, loss of follow up and in many cases no anticancer therapy or palliative care to offer. Historically, most of humanitarian aid was focused on basic needs and first aid, leaving NCDs including cancer care with trivial support if any. Recently with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the negative global economic crisis, refugees all over the globe will have devastating impact on cancer care screening, early detection, treatment and palliative care.
This book aims to illuminate the causes, incidence, and treatments of Hepatocellular Carcinoma(HCC) or liver cancer in the politically important and societally diverse region of the Middle East. Taking a flexible and inclusive view, it examines the influences of geography, crops and diet, ethnicity, and local behavior on both diagnosis and outcomes of this disease. Understanding the different causes of liver cancer enables effective strategies for both prevention and early diagnosis while knowledge of the different treatment modalities, their uses and limitations, availability and costs, works to inform rational treatment provision and selection. Divided into four sections, this book considers the causes and clinical syndromes associated with HCC, provides a detailed overview of clinical HCC and treatment modalities, describes country-specific clinical HCC experience and practice, and considers future needs and the potential for HCC collaborations across the region. Liver Cancer in the Middle East is a useful resource for clinicians seeking insight into the second highest cause of death from cancer worldwide, governments planning social and medical services for their peoples, as well as for international aid agencies prioritizing donations.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country located in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula. The country consists of seven emirates, which are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah. The UAE is known for its vast oil reserves, luxurious lifestyle, and modern infrastructure. The UAE has a population of 9.8 million people, with expats making up over 80% of the population. The official language of the country is Arabic, but English is widely spoken as well. The UAE has a diverse economy, with oil exports accounting for a significant portion of its GDP. The government has worked to diversify the economy, emphasizing tourism, finance, and technology. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are major international business hubs with world-renowned landmarks, such as the Burj Khalifa and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, serving as popular tourist attractions. The UAE has also prioritized education and healthcare, with significant investments in these sectors to provide high-quality services to its citizens and residents.
Two leading oncologists, along with experts spanning several medical disciplines, shed light on the global pandemic of cancer, particularly the difference in diagnosis, treatment, and care between global communities. Despite advancing globalization and amazing breakthroughs in modern medicine, developing countries continue to struggle with the prevention and treatment of the most common killer in the world today—cancer. Logistical barriers, scarceness of resources, and economic hardships in these regions make the screening, detection, and care of this disease difficult at best. This book is the only one of its kind to review the pandemic of cancer from a global and epidemiological perspective. The work is presented in three sections, focusing on key issues in cancer management, treatment of specific types of the disease, and the difference in medical care between low-, medium-, and high-resource countries. Chapters address the history, incidence, and treatment across nations; presiding cultural attitudes which may delay or prevent treatment in many parts of the world; and the geopolitics of cancer care and funding. Patients and caregivers from all around the globe explain the daily challenges of living with the disease in their nation.
The new global cancer data suggests that the global burden has risen to 18.1 million new cases per year and 9.6 million cancer deaths per year. A number of factors appear to be driving this increase, in particular, a growing and aging global population and an increase of exposure to cancer risk factors linked to social and economic development. For rapidly-growing economies, the data suggests a shift from poverty- or infection-related cancers to those associated with lifestyles more typical in industrialized countries. There is still large geographical diversity in cancer occurrence and variations in the magnitude and profile of the disease between and within world regions. There are specific types of cancer that dominate globally: lung, female breast and colorectal cancer, and the regional variations in common cancer types signal the extent to which societal, economic and lifestyle changes interplay to deferentially impact on the profile of this most complex group of diseases. Unfortunately, despite advances in cancer care, a significant proportion of patients at home, experience sub-optimal outcomes. Barriers to successful treatment outcomes include, but are not limited to: access to oncologists in the primary health centers, non-adherence, lack of experienced oncology and palliative care nurses in the community, inadequate monitoring and the lack of training of family and pediatric physicians. Telemedicine approaches, including telephone triage/education, telemonitoring, teleconsultation and status tracking through mobile applications, have shown promise in further improving outcomes, in particular for chronic cancer patients following their hospitalization. Lessons can be learned from existing hospices in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Centers of Excellence in African (Uganda) and modern community services in India (Kerala). An important goal of this book is to describe and encourage professionals to develop new community programs in palliative care, which include training and empowering physicians and nurses in the community on the principles of palliative care. The Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) together with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) have conducted multiple courses ranging from basic palliative care to more specialized training in palliative care for multiple nationalities in Europe, Asia and Africa. Our experience clearly indicates that, to promote such activities, one needs strong leadership and confirmed political will to support the endeavor. The new book will emphasize the importance of having a core of multiple stakeholders including community leaders, government, NGOs and media to be actively involved in advocating for the cause and generating public awareness. This text will provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the outside-of-the-hospital treatment of cancer patients by medical, paramedical and volunteer personnel. In doing so, this text will encourage the creation of new palliative care services improving upon the existing ones and stimulate further research in this field. Part 1 of the text will begin with an overview of the current state of affairs of services provided to cancer patients while being cared for by primary health centers. It will also review the current literature regarding medical and psychological-based therapy options in the community for cancer patients at different stages of their disease. Part 2 will address the unique role of the community nurse, within the framework of the multidisciplinary team treating the patient, in the attempt to provide optimal evaluation and care in very challenging situations (such as with terminal patients). Part 3 will provide insightful models of this new discipline and serve as a valuable resource for physicians, nurses, social workers and others involved in the care of cancer patients. The book will take a multidisciplinary approach, integrating clinical and environmental data for practical management to enhance the efficacy of treatment while relieving suffering. Part 4 will also discuss the application of modern technological approaches to track symptoms, quality of life, diet, mobility, duration of sleep and medication use (including pain killers) in chronic cancer patients in the community. Part 5 of the book will also be devoted to modes of developing a collaborative program between governmental and non-governmental organization sectors. This includes volunteer workers in close collaboration with medical professionals for providing emotional and spiritual support, nursing care, nutritional support and empowering family caregivers. Such a model makes palliative care in the community a “people’s movement”, thus transferring part of the responsibility and ownership to the community.
