UAE Health Workers Reveal Gaps in Safety Reporting

In early 2023 a team gathered data from 629 staff members across hospitals in the United Arab Emirates. The participants included doctors, nurses, and other allied health workers. Researchers used a convenience sample, asking each person to fill out a short questionnaire about their job and a safety‑culture survey called HSOPSC. The goal was to see how staff viewed safety and what obstacles they saw when it came to reporting incidents.

The findings showed that only about four in ten respondents said they had reported near‑miss events. At the same time, the majority felt there was respect among colleagues, with roughly eight out of ten giving a positive rating. Staff who mentioned barriers to reporting tended to score higher on most safety‑culture items than those who did not, and the difference was statistically significant.

To improve the situation, experts suggest making the reporting process easier, building a culture where mistakes are not punished, and giving clearer feedback to those who speak up. These steps aim to lift overall safety scores and encourage more people to share concerns before a real error occurs.

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