Beyond stereotypes: an autoethnographic journey of an Emirati woman through educational stigma

Drilling Into Diversity: Developing the Reservoir of Talent

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death among women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2010. Heart attacks usually occur at an older age in women compared to men, consequently the atypical symptoms of heart disease that often appear among women are masked by symptoms of other chronic diseases. Non-recognition of symptoms could explain the reason behind delays in seeking healthcare and the high mortality following a heart attack among Emirati women. This study seeks to a) highlight the awareness of heart diseases among Emirati women and b) to understand Emirati women’s healthcare seeking behaviour. Methods: A cross sectional, descriptive study was conducted using a survey instrument adapted from the American Heart Association National survey. A convenience sample of 676 Emirati women between the ages of 18-55 years completed the questionnaire. Results: The study showed low levels of awareness of heart disease and associated risk factors in Emirati women; only 19.4% participants were found to be aware of heart diseases. Awareness levels were highest in Dubai (OR 2.18, p<0.05) among all the other emirates and in the 18-45 years age group (OR 2.74, p<0.05). Despite low awareness levels, women paradoxically perceived themselves to be self-efficacious in seeking healthcare. Interestingly, just 49.1% Emirati women believed that good quality and affordable healthcare was available in the UAE. Only 28.8% of the participants believed there were sufficient female doctors to respond to health needs of women in UAE. Furthermore, only 36.7% Emirati women chose to be treated in the UAE over treatment in other countries. Conclusion: Emirati women clearly lack knowledge on severity and vulnerability to heart disease in the region that is essential to improve cardiovascular related health outcomes. This study has identified the need for wider outreach that focuses on gender and age specific awareness on heart disease risks and symptoms. The study has also highlighted potential modifiable barriers in seeking healthcare that should be overcome to reduce morbidity and mortality due to heart disease among national women of UAE.

BackgroundCardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death among women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2010. Heart attacks usually happen in older women thus symptoms of heart disease may be masked by symptoms of chronic diseases, which could explain the delay in seeking health care and higher mortality following an ischaemic episode among women. This study seeks to a) highlight the awareness of heart diseases among Emirati women and b) to understand Emirati women’s health care seeking behaviour in UAE.MethodA cross sectional, descriptive study was conducted using a survey instrument adapted from the American Heart Association National survey. A convenience sample of 676 Emirati women between the ages of 18–55 years completed the questionnaire.ResultsThe study showed low levels of awareness of heart disease and associated risk factors in Emirati women; only 19.4% participants were found to be aware of heart diseases. Awareness levels were highest in Dubai (OR 2.18, p < 0.05) among all the other emirates and in the 18–45 years age group (OR 2.74, p < 0.05). Despite low awareness levels, women paradoxically perceived themselves to be self-efficacious in seeking health care. Interestingly, just 49.1% Emirati women believed that good quality and affordable health care was available in the UAE. Only 28.8% of the participants believed there were sufficient female doctors to respond to health needs of women in UAE. Furthermore, only 36.7% Emirati women chose to be treated in the UAE over treatment in other countries.ConclusionEmirati women clearly lack the knowledge on severity and vulnerability to heart disease in the region that is essential to improve cardiovascular related health outcomes. This study has identified the need for wider outreach that focuses on gender and age specific awareness on heart disease risks and symptoms. The study has also highlighted potential modifiable barriers in seeking health care that should be overcome to reduce morbidity and mortality due to heart disease among national women of UAE.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases were the leading cause of death in women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2010. The UAE is expected to experience a tripling of heart diseases in the next two decades as risk factors for heart diseases increase. Research shows that first year survival rates of younger women suffering from a heart attack are lower than in men. Women present with a wider range of symptoms for heart diseases than men; non-recognition of atypical symptoms may explain the delay in seeking treatment and poor prognosis following heart diseases in women. No known study on awareness of heart diseases among women has been carried out in the Middle Eastern region. Methods: Social constructionist and interpretivist epistemological approaches have been considered in this qualitative study to explore the awareness of heart diseases and the health seeking behavior of Emirati women. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 41 Emirati women. Three focus groups and six in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain data. Thematic content analysis was applied to the data following transcription and translation of recordings. Results: Emirati women had limited knowledge on heart diseases. Women were generally unaware of the atypical symptoms, commonly experienced by women however they identified most risk factors associated with heart diseases. Lack of awareness of disease severity and symptoms, sociocultural influences and distrust in the healthcare system were considered the main barriers to seeking prompt treatment. Conclusions: This study clearly identified gaps and inaccuracies in knowledge of heart diseases, which could contribute to delayed health seeking action and possibly poorer prognosis among Emirati women. Absence of initiatives to educate women on cardiovascular diseases in UAE has erroneously deemed it a less serious concern among Emirati women. The findings from this study provide clear indications of the need to increase accountability of the healthcare system and to develop culturally relevant, gender specific, age focused, heart diseases related public health awareness campaigns in UAE.

2140 PREVALENCE, RISK FACTORS, SOCIAL IMPACT AND HEALTHCARE SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF SYMPTOMS OF GENITAL PROLAPSE AMONG EMIRATI WOMEN

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases were the leading cause of death in women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2010. The UAE is expected to experience a tripling of heart diseases in the next two decades as risk factors for heart diseases increase. Research shows that first year survival rates of younger women suffering from a heart attack are lower than in men. Women present with a wider range of symptoms for heart diseases than men; non-recognition of atypical symptoms may explain the delay in seeking treatment and poor prognosis following heart diseases in women. No known study on awareness of heart diseases among women has been carried out in the Middle Eastern region.MethodsSocial constructionist and interpretivist epistemological approaches have been considered in this qualitative study to explore the awareness of heart diseases and the health seeking behavior of Emirati women. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 41 Emirati women. Three focus groups and six in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain data. Thematic content analysis was applied to the data following transcription and translation of recordings.ResultsEmirati women had limited knowledge on heart diseases. Women were generally unaware of the atypical symptoms, commonly experienced by women however they identified most risk factors associated with heart diseases. Lack of awareness of disease severity and symptoms, sociocultural influences and distrust in the healthcare system were considered the main barriers to seeking prompt treatment.ConclusionsThis study clearly identified gaps and inaccuracies in knowledge of heart diseases, which could contribute to delayed health seeking action and possibly poorer prognosis among Emirati women. Absence of initiatives to educate women on cardiovascular diseases in UAE has erroneously deemed it a less serious concern among Emirati women. The findings from this study provide clear indications of the need to increase accountability of the healthcare system and to develop culturally relevant, gender specific, age focused, heart diseases related public health awareness campaigns in UAE.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12905-016-0350-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A majority of the current students enrolled in the United Arab Emirates’ federal colleges and universities are first-generation students. Although the number of first-generation students is high, there is a lack of information on the experiences of these students. The lack of information on the academic, social, and familial experiences of the Emirati female first-generation students stymies governmental and educational initiatives to address the special needs of these students. For that reason, investigating the problem could help identify programs and resources that can assist first-generation students meet their academic aspirations. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an understanding of the academic, social, and familial experiences of first-generation Emirati students in a higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates. Six female first-generation Emirati Bachelor students from the Higher Colleges of Technology participated in open-ended, in-depth, semi-structured interviews to discuss their academic, social and familial experiences. A series of in-depth and follow-up interviews were conducted until data saturation was reached.

The working population of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the private sector is characterized by a majority of expatriates and comparatively few UAE nationals. The UAE government encourages firms to hire Emirati nationals in the private sector through various incentives and policies. This article investigates UAE nationals’ preferences for material and non-material incentives in the workplace. The study is based on questionnaires distributed to Emirati nationals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The findings of the research are expected to provide policymakers with insights into Emiratis’ preferred work incentives. In addition, it will, it is hoped, aid in developing appropriate nationalization policies for the UAE in general and UAE private organizations in particular.

From the day Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859, English has been&lt;br&gt;the lingua franca of the petroleum industry. This standardization has allowed diverse groups from&lt;br&gt;differing linguistic backgrounds to work together to get the oil to global markets efficiently and&lt;br&gt;economically. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) with its large numbers of migrant workers and its vast&lt;br&gt;oil reserves has certainly profited from this standardization.&lt;br&gt;Founded in 1971, the UAE has become a magnet for the world’s skilled workers and has judiciously&lt;br&gt;used its copious oil revenues to build a modern society. With citizens comprising less than 20% of the&lt;br&gt;total residents, English has replaced native Arabic as the dominant language, not only in the oil&lt;br&gt;industry but also in the daily business world of the UAE. Unified primarily by language, the migrant and&lt;br&gt;local residents of the UAE, forming differing cultural groups with distinct, ethnic identities, have&lt;br&gt;experienced some disagreements as the disenfranchised groups seek more inclusion and recognition.&lt;br&gt;When the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) opened the Petroleum Institute (PI) in 2001, its&lt;br&gt;mandate was to educate Emirati young men to become engineers capable of managing ADNOC’s&lt;br&gt;extensive oil fields and reserves. Since then, the PI has opened its doors to Emirati women in 2006,&lt;br&gt;and Expatriate men and women in 2007. High school graduates of private and government schools in&lt;br&gt;the UAE, these students are pursuing engineering studies preparing them for leadership roles within&lt;br&gt;ADNOC’s Operating Companies (OpCos).&lt;br&gt;This paper introduces the UAE and ADNOC’s initiative to open a local engineering school. It describes&lt;br&gt;the PI’s evolving curriculum, demonstrating how it continues to adapt to meet the needs of its&lt;br&gt;changing population. Clarifying some of the political and economic policies that favor Emirati students&lt;br&gt;over Expatriate students and men over women, this inquiry will conclude by, first, examining the&lt;br&gt;implications of the particular standards and expectations for these different groups and, second, by&lt;br&gt;describing the results of a survey that explore the impact of these changes on the social cohesion&lt;br&gt;among Emirati and Expatriate men and women competing for recognition in the Institute’s engineering&lt;br&gt;programs and later for leadership positions within ADNOC.

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.

Innovation in a Small State: <scp>Q</scp>atar and the <scp>IBC</scp> Cluster Model of Higher Education

Technology, education and Arab youth in the 21st century: A study of the UAE

While the Emirati government continues to make great strides in encouraging female Emirati citizens to become public school teachers and educational leaders, the change process has been slow. According to the most recent data, there is a severe shortage of female Emirati postgraduates, especially in the education field, limiting qualified female Emirati leadership. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government calls for more female leaders in all fields, including education. Despite the UAE’s attempts to encourage women to obtain a secular graduate-level education and become educational leaders, the response has been minimal. Lack of female educational leadership both inside and outside of school walls may cause more stress on the country’s education system because students may not receive adequate knowledge regarding Emirati culture and values in school. Participants felt that foreign teachers and educational leaders are unable to model or provide sufficient cultural awareness education to the students. This qualitative study was comprised of interviews with 13 female Emirati teachers who desire to obtain a postgraduate degree in education but have yet to complete the task. The study examined the female Emirati teachers’ perceptions of the factors that inhibit them from obtaining a postgraduate degree in education in Abu Dhabi. The findings show that understandings of culture and religious obligations play a major role in the Emirati women’s decision to go to graduate school and ultimately become leaders in the country. This finding is of major importance to Emirati social and education policy contexts for continued encouragement of Emirati women to get postgraduate degrees and become leaders in the UAE.

This study aims to analyze the social, health, and economic factors affecting the low fertility rate among women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study seeks to answer the following question: What are the social, economic, and health factors that affect the low fertility rate among the Emirati women, from the point of view of female university students? Using a snowball sampling method, we collected data from 212 working female students at a university in Abu Dhabi Emirate. Findings indicate that undergraduate education demands a significant amount of time for married females. Among the respondents, 94% acknowledged that a woman’s pursuit of higher education could divert her attention from fulfilling familial duties, potentially resulting in declining fertility rates. Moreover, 62% of the participants believed that undergraduate studies impact fertility. When examining the age of marriage, it was noticed that most married women (81%) were between the ages of 15 and 25, suggesting that age at marriage does not, significantly, affect fertility. Approximately 51% of the participants suggested that their husband’s absence from work might affect fertility outcomes. In addition, living in a separate household demonstrated a positive correlation with higher fertility rates than when living with parents. By analyzing the respondents’ geographical distribution, we found that the urban population accounted for the most significant percentage (81%). This observation implies a potential correlation between the city’s characteristics and fertility rates. Furthermore, the study identified a significant relationship between the husband’s desire to control or postpone reproduction and fertility rates. Our results align with the study population’s beliefs regarding the detrimental effects of malnutrition and unhealthy dietary patterns on fertility. Our study recommends developing policies for women’s work–life balance, social support networks, and tackling economic barriers to address the declining fertility rate in the UAE.

Background: Reliable health user information is needed to effectively organize nursing services and deliver quality patientcentered care. Nurse leaders of Al Gharbia Health Services (AGHS) noted that although budget data and general workforce information were readily available, detailed information about patient experiences, views, and expectations was lacking.Objective: This study aimed to obtain preliminary data regarding health and nursing service expectations of Emirati nationals in the remote western region of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).Methods: This study used qualitative descriptive methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of Emirati families who had recently accessed AGHS. Interviews focused on service user understanding and expectations of the role of nurses, nursing services, and the health service overall.Results: Emirati nationals’ views and expectations regarding nurses’ role and function in the healthcare team were highlighted. Participants’ expectations and the attributes they valued were distributed across two distinct areas: clinical competence and the “softer” skills of compassion, caring, and respect.Conclusions: These findings facilitate understanding of the expectations of Emirati health service users. Importantly, the results counter regional perceptions of nursing under-valued as a servant role across the UAE and broader Gulf Cooperation Council region. The findings may inform a range of activities including: a large-scale survey regarding the views and expectations of Emirati health service users; pre-service nursing education and nursing in service development; and the recruitment of Emirati nationals to the nursing profession. Further investigation regarding perceptions and valuing of nursing within the Emirati community is warranted.