Analysis of the Qatari healthcare system

A new study published online in the Journal of Local and Global Health Perspectives examines key performance indicators in the Qatari healthcare system to determine how it is coping with the demands of a sharp population increase¹.

The population of Qatar rose sharply between 2004 and 2010, from 745,000 to nearly 1.7 million, because of the massive influx of non-Qataris, and this has led to a decline in the number of healthcare professionals per capita and in hospital bed capacity.

Orsida Gjebrea of the Supreme Council of Health in Doha and colleagues from the Dubai Health Authority mined data from two national health surveys conducted in 2006 and 2010, to obtain responses from more than 8,000 individuals in total, and analysed them for information regarding access to, use of, and satisfaction with the healthcare system.

The researchers studied nationals and non-nationals, including blue collar workers. Data for non-nationals living in collective accommodation was not available.

The researchers found that the non-Qatari respondents were more likely to be married and have smaller households than the Qataris. They not only reported having a better health status, but also tended to be healthier, with fewer chronic conditions. 

They found no difference between these two groups in access to healthcare, with approximately two thirds of each reporting that they usually go to one particular doctor's office, clinic, or heath centre.

Qataris were, however, significantly more likely to report having a private hospital as their usual source of healthcare, and were also more likely to have inpatient or outpatient care in the two years the surveys were conducted. But the non-Qatari respondents were more than twice as likely to report full satisfaction with the healthcare they received.

Overall 98% of respondents reported that they had received the appropriate healthcare when they needed it.

This contrasts previous with studies of immigrants in the USA and Europe, who typically face significant barriers to healthcare, and this is likely because many of the non-Qataris are highly educated high income professionals. 

“The latest available data suggests that blue collar workers experience similar levels of satisfaction with healthcare as non-Qatari households,” says Gjebrea, “and according to the Supreme Council of Health 2013 annual report of workers residing in collective accommodation, those with lower incomes were slightly more satisfied than the rest.”

1. Hussin, A. H., Ali, F. M. H., Reka, H., Gjebrea, O. Tracking access, utilization and health system responsiveness to inform evidence-based healthcare policy: the case of Qatar. J. Local Global Health Perspect.2015, 2 (2015). | article