School Health Services in the United Arab Emirates: Exploration of an Effective Way to Provide Primary Healthcare for Children and Young People

Abstract

Consistent with international trends, health service authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have acknowledged the importance of refocusing healthcare services to reflect more responsive, primary, and preventive care approaches, especially in services for children and adolescents. The UAE has well-established school health services, which represent an ideal avenue to support this service delivery transformation. However, the opportunity to achieve this service transformation has not yet been fully realized. Current school health services in the UAE may need strengthening to better contribute to the changes needed to focus on prevention and health promotion. Studies that assessed components of these UAE school health services identified various gaps, such as human resources, capacity gaps within service providers, and the lack of a framework focused on prevention and promotion services. These gaps need to be addressed to ensure comprehensive and quality services are provided for the target group.