Dubai: Over half of UAE residents would want to travel abroad for a planned surgery, a new health index has revealed.
According to the NMC health index released by the NMC private healthcare group in Dubai on April 22, 53 per cent residents who undertook a health survey it commissioned in October-November last year said they would travel overseas for a planned operation. This despite 76 per cent saying the UAE healthcare system is better than other countries.
The survey conducted by Brunswick Insight covered 1,054 people, aged over 18 years across different nationalities.
The ‘first-of-its-kind’ study also revealed that 47 per cent people are satisfied with safety practice of religion in the UAE, vis a vis just 31 per cent with jobs and working conditions. Sixty four per cent people said they are stressed out in daily life, with 76 per cent feeling anxious, worried or upset at least sometime in the past month.
The survey found 32 per cent people smoking tobacco or sheesha. Only six per cent eat five or more portions of vegetables and fruits in a day while only half sleep seven-eight hours a night. A sizeable 82 per cent were found to be drinking sugary or carbonated drinks every week while 35 per cent exercise less than once a week.
Among other findings, 26 per cent were found to have one or more non-communicable diseases like hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity etc.
Nirman Shetty, President, Corporate Affairs at NMC Healthcare, who released the results at a press meet on April 21, said the survey factored not just the physical aspects of health but also emotional and social well-being.
He claimed that the NMC health index is the first of its kind in the UAE and would be available as a free online facility for residents to to assess their health and track their progress. “All you have to do is go to www.healthindex.ae sand answer a set of questions. It will take around three minutes.”
He said the index survey will be conducted every year in an effort to provide interesting insights on the health of the population.
