Determinants of Customer Satisfaction in the United Arab Emirates Health Care Industry

Abstract

Background: The United Arab Emirates is aiming to provide ‘world-class healthcare’ to its citizens. This study aims to study the association between overall satisfaction and various aspects of health care services in the United Arab Emirates on a country level. Methods: The data was collected from 5,855 respondents on affordability, quality, accessibility, and responsiveness dimensions of health care. Besides frequency tables and descriptive statistics, statistical methods, such as Principal Component Analysis and Multiple Regression were used for dimension reduction and model the association between dependent (overall satisfaction) and independent (affordability, quality, accessibility, and responsiveness) variables. Results: The findings indicated higher levels of satisfaction with quality and accessibility and lower levels of satisfaction with affordability and responsiveness. Recommendations are provided to address the latter two factors. Conclusions: The study identifies issues in health care service provision in the United Arab Emirates and offers recommendations about enhancing affordability and responsiveness.

Factors Affecting Patient Satisfaction in the UAE’s Healthcare Sector

“…The delicate link between responsiveness and cost highlights the UAE's healthcare goals. Healthcare responsiveness refers to how health systems meet public expectations for non-health characteristics, including waiting times, quality of The demand and supply gap of healthcare services has increased demand-side costs, negatively impacting healthcare affordability in the UAE [57]. The country is considered to be one of the most expensive destinations in the Middle East for medical treatment.…”