Session focuses on latest treatments for asthma & chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, represented by Dubai Medical District’s Training and Development Office, recently organized the International Respiratory Summit. The event was attended by Dr. Abdulaziz Abdula Al Zarooni, Deputy Director of the Dubai Medical District, and Dr. Mariam Shaker, Family Medicine Consultant and Medical Director, Al Muhaisnah Health Centre, along with lecturers from local, regional and international universities, senior healthcare officials from Dubai and the Northern Emirates, and representatives from the private health care sectors.
The session focused on highly relevant healthcare topics, including ‘Burden of Treating Respiratory Diseases,’ ‘Inflammation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD),’ ‘Role of Inhaled Corticosteroids in the Treatment of Chronic Diseases,’ ‘Bronchodilators for Patients with COPD,’ and ‘Asthma Management Through Metered-Dose.’
Dr. Hussein Abdel-Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for the Health Centers and Clinics, UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, emphasized on the Ministry’s strategy to develop a healthcare system that protects the society from chronic diseases by controlling them. He said: “This international meeting plays an important role in raising awareness about the importance of health education in the community, enlightening about the causes of respiratory diseases and ways to avoid them, and effective management of the disease. It also reinforces our focus on improving the level and quality of diagnostic and therapeutic services provided to patients by implementing best practices in the management of the respiratory disease.”
Dr. Abdulaziz Abdula Al Zarooni stated that the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention plays a key role in the promotion of health education in the country. He further said that they have established specialized asthma, allergy and chest clinic has been established in Muhaisnah Health Center alongside updating the toolkit to include the latest global developments. He also reiterated that the Ministry continues to train and update its medical and technical team with the best practices that conform to international protocols and directives of the World Health Organization.
Dr. Shaker pointed to the importance of this global forum in the light of growing number of asthma patients which is approximately 334 million people globally of whom 14 per cent are children and 8.6 per cent are adults. She also estimated that nearly 50 per cent of children remain absent from school because of bronchial asthma. Noting that there are 65 million cases of COPD, Dr. Shaker said that the disease has close connection with smoking and inhalation of chemicals and doctors play a key role in spreading awareness about its early detection by checking lungs of all smokers over the age of 40.
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