Health Quality Management practices for Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes, and Obesity care in the UAE: a Scoping Review

Zufishan Alam¹Kanika Sinha¹Fatima Albedwawi¹Hanin Osman¹Fadumo Noor¹Md Hafizur Rahman¹Nazik Nurelhuda^1,2*

• ¹Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• ²University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Canada

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), diabetes and obesity are increasingly prevalent in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), driven by lifestyle changes, and demographic shifts. This review maps the current research landscape on health quality management (HQM) practices for the three NCDs in the UAE, uniquely analysed through health quality frameworks. Methods: A scoping review of UAE-based studies and grey literature on HQM for the three NCDs (2015– 2025), following the Arksey and O'Malley framework and in alignment with the PRISMA scoping review guidelines, was conducted. A subsequent focused two-dimensional analysis of interventional studies assessed health quality improvement efforts, incorporating guideline documents and reports for policy context. Findings were analysed using the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) six quality domains and the Donabedian model (structure, process, outcomes). Results: Of the identified 549 relevant records, observational studies were predominant, with the majority conducted in larger urban Emirates and pertaining to CVD and diabetes. The interventional studies and grey literature documents, in the subset analysis, largely addressed the effectiveness domain of HQM. Most interventions targeted lifestyle modification through education, digital tools, and multidisciplinary support, with modest clinical improvements observed in most studies. However, study designs were often limited by small sample sizes, lack of control groups, short durations, and methodological variability. Policy documents emphasised structural and process with limited focus on outcome monitoring. Conclusion: While intervention research addressing NCDs in the UAE shows promise, it remains methodologically limited and inconsistently distributed among the six HQM domains - with a heavy emphasis on effectiveness and a relative underrepresentation of equity, efficiency and timeliness domains noted in the reviewed literature. There is a pressing need to implement standardised quality indicators addressing all HQM domains, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and integrate patient perspectives to translate research progress into equitable, sustainable improvements in NCD care. By integrating health quality frameworks, this review provides a foundation for strengthening NCD care standards in the UAE.