ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2022
Socioeconomic disparities in healthcare utilization under universal health coverage: evidence from Dubai household health survey.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Determinants of private health insurance uptake and its association with healthcare utilization in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: a systematic review.Global health action · 2026Pooled it
- Trends in Emergency Department utilization by disease categories in a migrant-dense high-income setting: a retrospective study in Dubai, 2021-2025.International journal of emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Private health insurance in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: A scoping review.Health policy OPEN · 2026Review
- Enablers and barriers to MENA'S path to universal health coverage: A scoping review of UAE, Morocco and Yemen.Dialogues in health · 2026Article
- Patient-centeredness-a cultural targeted survey among junior medical managers.International journal for equity in health · 2023Article
- Use of dietetic services among pregnant women with gestational diabetes in the UAE: Prevalence, correlates, and patient experiences.Women's health (London, England)Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn 2013, Dubai implemented the Insurance System of Advancing Health in Dubai (ISAHD) law which required mandatory health insurance for all residents of Dubai effective in 2016. This study compares the effect of the ISAHD on the utilization and out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures for low and high socio-economic status sub-groups.
methodsThe study used the 2014 and 2018 Dubai Household Health Survey (DHHS) a representative survey of Dubai stratified as: 1) Nationals; 2) Non-nationals in households; 3) Non-nationals in collective housing; and 4) Non-nationals in labor camps. The probability that each household would have expenditures was calculated, then multiplied by a weighted estimate of the average total OOP expenditure.
resultsOverall Dubai's health spending rose from 12.8 billion AED (3.4 billion US $) in 2014 to 16.8 billion AED (4.6 billion US $) in 2017. Concurrently, the OOP share in total health spending in Dubai fell from 25% in 2014 to 13% in 2017. From 2014 to 2018, there were increases in the utilization of inpatient, outpatient and discretionary services for all groups except non-nationals living in camps. In 2018, nationals spent a total of 1064.65 AED, non-nationals in households spent 675.01 AED, collective households spent 82.35 AED, and labor camps spent 100.32 AED out-of-pocket per capita for healthcare expenditures. During and after the implementation of ISAHD, there was a substantial growth in the OOP expenditure per capita for nationals and non-nationals in households due to increased utilization. OOP spending did not rise for the lower-income non-National households.
conclusionDubai has been successful in reducing the household share of OOP expenditures by shifting the financial burden to government and employers. Emiratis and expatriate households increased their health service utilization after ISAHD but blue-collar workers did not. Remaining non-financial barriers to care for Dubai's blue-collar workers must be identified and addressed.
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