Culture In Qatar Research Articles

Autonomous vehicles between anticipation and apprehension: Investigations through safety and security perceptions

Due to the ongoing enormous infrastructural developments and car ownership culture in Qatar, it could be one of those countries to introduce Autonomous Vehicles (AV) technology at the early stages. Therefore, this study surveyed a number of residents at the State of Qatar to improve our understandings of their perceptions regarding overall safety of AV (General_safety), safety due to the fact that AV could eliminate human errors (Human_errors), safety due to the interactions between Human-Driven Vehicles (HDV) and AV (HDV-AV_interactions), performance in harsh environmental conditions, security, comfort level, travel time, congestion and operational costs. In addition, the study uncovered the relationships of public perceptions towards AV and some other contextual factors with the willingness to adopt it in the future. To study these relations, we relied on a Structural Equation Modeling. Overall, the results showed that respondents had higher and positive perceptions regarding “General_safety” and “Human_errors”, however, they were more concerned about “HDV-AV_interactions” and its security. In addition, individuals’ preference to shift to AV in the future was positively correlated with their perception level of “General_safety”, “Human_errors”, Comfort and Travel_time. Regarding ethnicity of the respondents, non-Arabs reported higher concerns regarding AV security, compared to Arabs. Furthermore, interestingly the results revealed that individuals having higher knowledge about AV technology had more concerns on “General_safety” and “HDV-AV_interactions”, while they had positive perceptions that AV could eliminate human errors. The findings from this study are anticipated to allow AV manufacturers and other relevant authorities to enhance public confidence towards AV technology by targeting different sub-groups through particular safety or security awareness campaigns.

Views and experiences of decision-makers on organisational safety culture and medication errors.

In 2017, the World Health Organization published "Medication Without Harm, WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge," to reduce patient harm caused by unsafe medication use practices. While the five objectives emphasise the need to create a framework for action, engaging key stakeholders and others, most published research has focused on the perspectives of health professionals. The aim was to explore the views and experiences of decision-makers in Qatar on organisational safety culture, medication errors and error reporting. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare decision-makers (policy-makers, professional leaders and managers, lead educators and trainers) in Qatar. Participants were recruited via purposive and snowball sampling, continued to the point of data saturation. The interview schedule focused on: error causation and error prevention; engendering a safety culture; and initiatives to encourage error reporting. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed and independently analysed by two researchers using the Framework Approach. From the 21 interviews conducted, key themes were the need to: promote trust within the organisation through articulating a fair blame culture; eliminate management, professional and cultural hierarchies; focus on team building, open communication and feedback; promote professional development; and scale-up successful initiatives. There was recognition that the current medication error reporting processes and systems were suboptimal, with suggested enhancements in themes of promoting a fair blame culture and open communication. These positive and negative aspects of organisational culture can inform the development of theory-based interventions to promote patient safety. Central to these will be the further development and sustainment of a "fair" blame culture in Qatar and beyond.

Perspectives of healthcare professionals in Qatar on causes of medication errors: A mixed methods study of safety culture

BackgroundThere is a lack of robust, rigorous mixed methods studies of patient safety culture generally and notably those which incorporate behavioural theories of change. The study aimed to quantify and explain key aspects of patient safety culture which were of most concern to healthcare professionals in Qatar.MethodsA sequential explanatory mixed methods design of a cross-sectional survey followed by focus groups in Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar. All doctors, nurses and pharmacists were invited to complete the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS). Respondents expressing interest in focus group participation were sampled purposively, and discussions based on survey findings using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to explain behavioural determinants.ResultsOne thousand, six hundred and four questionnaires were received (67.9% nurses, 13.3% doctors, 12.9% pharmacists). HSOPS composites with the lowest levels of positive responses were non-punitive response to errors (24.0% positive) and staffing (36.2%). Specific TDF determinants potentially associated with these composites were social/professional role and identity, emotions, and environmental context and resources. Thematic analysis identified issues of doctors relying on pharmacists to correct their errors and being reluctant to alter the prescribing of fellow doctors. There was a lack of recognition of nurses’ roles and frequent policy non-adherence. Stress, workload and lack of staff at key times were perceived to be major contributors to errors.ConclusionsThis study has quantified areas of concern relating to patient safety culture in Qatar and suggested important behavioural determinants. Rather than focusing on changing behaviour at the individual practitioner level, action may be required at the organisational strategic level to review policies, structures (including resource allocation and distribution) and processes which aim to promote patient safety culture.

Contextualizing the Physician Charter on Professionalism in Qatar: From Patient Autonomy to Family Autonomy.

The Physician Charter on medical professionalism has been endorsed by professional organizations worldwide, yet it is unclear if this Western framework of professionalism is applicable in non-Western countries. This study examines how physicians practicing in a Middle Eastern context perceive the terms, principles, and commitments outlined in the charter. In May 2013, the authors conducted 6 focus groups with 43 clinician-educators practicing at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar, to discuss the applicability of the Physician Charter in a local context. The research team coded and analyzed transcripts to identify sociocultural influences on professionalism. Participants generally expressed agreement with the applicability of the charter's principles to physician professionalism in Qatar. However, 3 contextual factors (religious beliefs and practices, family-centered decision making, and multinationality) complicated the application of the core principles of patient autonomy and social justice. Islamic beliefs reinforced the importance of professional values such as altruism, but presented a barrier to the principle of self-determination for female patients. The family-centered culture in Qatar called for enlarging the scope of patient-centered decision making to include the patient's family. Qatar's multinational population prompted debate over equal treatment and how to conceptualize and implement the principle of social justice. Several sociocultural contexts influence the conceptualization of the principles of medical professionalism in Qatar. The findings suggest that contextual factors should be considered when developing or adopting a professionalism framework in an international setting and context.

Opportunities and Challenges for Innovations in Qatar

Opportunities and Challenges for Innovations in <scp>Q</scp>atar

The Qatar Unified Imaging Project (QUIP)

Abstract VCUQatar was recently granted QNRF funding to spearhead a highly collaborative and distributed project to advance knowledge of Qatar's history, traditions and culture. The Qatar Unified Imaging Project (QUIP) will identify and map the dispersed collections of Qatar's primary source materials in Qatar, India, Britain, and Denmark, then distribute selected results of that research from an open-access digital repository. The research team offers expertise in Gulf history, preservation, digitization, information access and education. Our expected outcome is the discovery and documentation of rich resource collections that will be made accessible for the benefit of the community and scholars without causing further deterioration of the original artifacts. QUIP will be an accessible resource to further the understanding of Qatar and the Arabian Gulf in relation to the rest of the world. Research will build on the work of the Qatar National Museum and the Ministry of Culture and expand access to disparate materials collected from or on Qatar, from the 18th to the 20th century. QUIP will produce a mapping of cultural orientation and a founding collection of digitized primary source materials. Using the European data structure and standardized metadata for classification of digital objects, ensures data portability and interoperability. QUIP will be sustained through collaborative partnerships with Qatar's cultural institutions, integration of the larger community of stakeholders and Qatar's commitment to UNESCO's Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Heritage.