Colposcopy services in the United Arab Emirates.
BACKGROUND
United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a young country with a population of 3 million, an abundant oil wealth, and a high standard of living. There is no organized cervical screening program, but the authorities are planning to introduce one soon.


OBJECTIVE
To study the availability and quality of colposcopy services.


METHODS
A questionnaire survey of all gynecologists in the major government and private hospitals in the country.


RESULTS
Twenty government hospitals offer obstetrics and gynecology services, 11 governments and 4 private hospitals have colposcopy services. Of the 52 specialists performing colposcopy, 8 had adequate training, 3 had formal recognition, and 3 had long-term experience. The number of cases seen per doctor varies from 10 to 100 a year, with a mean and median of 28 and 15, respectively. Three units had the required basic colposcopy equipment for diagnosis and treatment. Only 1 unit performs audit.


CONCLUSIONS
Colposcopy service is widely available in many hospitals in the United Arab Emirates, but substantial variation exists in clinical standards and needs more organization and standardization.
Ghazal-Aswad
Saad
S
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, UAE. saad.ghazal_aswad@uaeu.ac.ae
Badrinath
Padmanabhan
P
Sidky
Islam
I
Gargash
Husnia
H
D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003127:Colposcopy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014479:United Arab Emirates / Q000453:epidemiology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014932:Women's Health Services; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*