title: Systematic thematic review of e-health research in the Gulf Cooperation Council (Arabian Gulf): Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
abstract: Introduction The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC or 'Arabian Gulf'), comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, is a political organization sharing a common history and culture. All GCC nations have made substantial investments in telecommunications and electronic health infrastructure since 2000. Methods We conducted a literature search in English and Arabic on peer-reviewed e-health research up to December 2014 originating in the GCC. The objective was to retrieve all research on e-health in the GCC and to categorize and analyse it qualitatively to reveal the current state of e-health research and development in the region. Inclusion criteria included peer-reviewed articles, books, book chapters, conference papers and graduate theses written on e-health in the GCC. Blogs, health websites and non-peer-reviewed literature were excluded. Results Three hundred and six articles were retrieved, categorized and analysed qualitatively to reveal the state of e-health research in the GCC. Both country-specific and GCC-wide major themes were identified using NVivo 10.0 qualitative software and summarized. The most common type of study was an overview (35.0%), with common study designs of case studies (26.8%) and descriptive articles (46.4%). Significant themes were: prospective national benefits from e-health, implementation and satisfaction with electronic health records, online technologies in medical education, innovative systems (case studies), and information security and personal health information. Discussion This is the first comprehensive analytical literature review of e-health in the GCC. Important research gaps were identified: few cost-benefit analyses, controlled interventional studies, or research targeting gender and religious issues were retrieved.
authors.affiliation: Medical Program, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Doha, State of Qatar.
authors.forename: Alan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Medical Program, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Doha, State of Qatar.
authors.forename: Rebal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Turjoman
authors.affiliation: Medical Program, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Doha, State of Qatar.
authors.forename: Yanal
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shaheen
authors.affiliation: Medical Program, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Doha, State of Qatar.
authors.forename: Farah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Al Sayyed
authors.affiliation: Medical Program, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Doha, State of Qatar.
authors.forename: Mu Ji
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Medical Program, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Doha, State of Qatar.
authors.forename: Faryal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Malick
mesh_terms: D001445:Bahrain; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000458:organization & administration; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D007730:Kuwait; D009850:Oman; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011780:Qatar; D012107:Research Design; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014479:United Arab Emirates
keywords: Arabian (Persian) Gulf; Bahrain; E-health; GCC; Gulf Cooperation Council; Kuwait; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates; telemedicine and telecare