Abdullah M. Alsabah is currently the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Defence, Kuwait.
"Where there is a challenge, there is opportunity"
About Me
Learning from the past,
to overcome future challenges
Abdullah M. Alsabah is currently the Undersecretary, at the Ministry of Defence, Kuwait. He has served in the Medical Services Authority as a military officer for fourteen years, starting at the rank of First lieutenant and resigned at the rank of Colonel. He was assigned as Chief in 2019.
In terms of scientific research, Abdullah’s main area of interest is health policy, management, and economics, with a special interest in improving the efficiency of spending in the Kuwait healthcare system. He has a number of publications that included the evaluation of the technical efficiency of public hospitals, the perception of hospital directors on the process of resource allocation, and the preferences of health service providers and the general public for setting healthcare priorities in the country. He has participated with a team from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), who was commissioned by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), in producing two reports that were presented to the Supreme Counsel for Development and Planning in Kuwait.
Abdullah has presented in several domestic, regional, and international conferences and meetings. Due to the rarity of research activity in the scientific field in the region, and because of his professional relationship with several international experts in the field of health economics and health policy, he intends to produce a number of empirical studies to fill the gap in the literature, encourage others to join this research area, and contribute to health system reforms in Kuwait and the wider region.
Abdullah is a physician by background. He received his medical education and training at the Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University in 2005. He then got his Master’s degree in the field of Healthcare Policy and Management from the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham, UK in 2010. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) in Health Economics from the Institute for Global Health, University College London (UCL) in 2021. The title of his PhD thesis was ‘How will current health spending in Kuwait meet the demands of a changing epidemiological and demographic landscape? A study exploring ways to improve the efficiency of health spending in Kuwait’.
AWARDS
28/09/2011 – Bronze Medal for Military Services
28/11/2017 – Military Duty Medal “First Class”
10/11/2016 – Silver Medal for Military Services
Publications by Abdullah
PUBLICATION
Clinical Attire Preference Among Patients in Military Healthcare Facilities in Kuwait
Objectives: Military healthcare professionals often consult patients while wearing their full military uniforms, which may affect patients’ clinical experience. This study aims to understand patients’ opinion concerning clinicians’ attire with regard to patients’ preference, ease in declaring personal or private information, comfort in asking for further information or raising concerns, and confidence in maintaining privacy and confidentiality in a military setting.
Methods: Patients attending outpatient clinics in two military medical facilities in Kuwait were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their preference for clinician attire and any effect on their comfort or confidence in the clinicians. The study took place in 2021.
Results: The overall response rate was 94.6% (n = 937). Most participants were neutral regarding all statements. However, female participants preferred their doctors to be in military uniforms in comparison with males (P = 0.000). Non-Kuwaiti participants felt more comfortable sharing private/personal information and asking for clarification or raising concerns with a doctor in military uniform (p = 0.007). Civilian participants also preferred doctors in military uniform (p = 0.000). Officers preferred their doctor to be in military uniform (p = 0.014), whereas non-commissioned officers preferred their doctor to be in civilian attire (p = 0.000).
Conclusion: Patients visiting military medical facilities do not prefer a certain attire, and attire does not influence their perception of the physicians’ competence. This may lead us to conclude that doctors’ attire, regardless of being civilian or military, may not be the most concerning factor regarding the patient’s confidence and comfort and that the doctor-patient relationship is more vital. Therefore, further investigation of the psychological impact of doctor’s attire is highly recommended.
Efficiency Evaluation of Public Hospitals in Kuwait: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis
Background: Kuwait overall health expenditure, in 2019, was 5.5% from the gross-domestic product and the state is the biggest healthcare provider in secondary and tertiary hospitals. Hospital efficiency and productivity are, therefore, an important issue to analyse, specifically in terms of number of visits to outpatient clinics, the number of surgical procedures performed, bed turnover and bed occupancy. Data envelopment analysis has been used to provide insights in the understanding of this growth in other countries.
Methods: Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to estimate technical and scale efficiency scores for seventeen public hospitals in Kuwait from 2015 to 2019 using a two-stage DEA. Technical efficiency scores were regressed against institutional characteristics using Tobit regression to investigate the determinants of efficiency differences amongst hospitals.
Results: The mean technical efficiency score for all hospitals was 75%, and it improved by 1% since 2015. The mean pure technical efficiency score was 85% in 2015 and improved to 86% in 2019. The mean scale efficiency score was 89% in 2015 and decreased to 88% in 2019. Only five hospitals were constantly technically and scale efficient. Tobit regression showed that hospital efficiency was significantly associated with the hospital level (secondary or tertiary), number of beds, bed occupancy rate and the average length of stay.
Conclusions: Most public hospitals in Kuwait were not technically and scale efficient, but improvements were observed in the overall scores and pure technical efficiencies of these hospitals throughout the study. The identification of the factors influencing efficiency is crucial for hospital managers and policymakers to take evidence-based decisions to improve the technical efficiency of the main health-producing units in the country.
This study aims to compare the priorities of the public with those of health service providers in Kuwait. It also aims to compare the perceptions of both groups regarding key health policies in the country. The response rate was above 75% for both groups. A higher tax on cigarettes was preferred by 73% of service providers as a source of additional funding for healthcare services, while 59% of the general public group chose the same option. When asked about the sufficiency of public sector health funding, 26.5% of the general public thought that resources were sufficient to meet all healthcare needs, compared with 40% of service providers. The belief that the public should be offered more opportunities to influence health resource allocation was held by 56% of the general public and 75% of service providers. More than half of the respondents from both groups believed that the policy on sending patients abroad was expensive, misused, and politically driven. Almost 64% of the general public stated that the provision of private health insurance for retirees was a ‘good’ policy, while only 34% of service providers agreed with this statement. This study showed similarities and differences between the general public and health service providers’ preferences. Both groups showed a preference for treating the young rather than the old. The general public preferred more expensive health services that had immediate effects rather than health promotion activities with delayed benefits and health services for the elderly. These findings suggest that the general public may not accept common allocative efficiency improvements in public health spending unless the challenges in this sector and the gains from reallocation are clearly communicated.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: In view of the budget limitations resulting from the downturn in the Kuwaiti economy, it is crucial to evaluate the process of priority setting in the health system within both the public and private sectors. The purpose of this study is to give decision makers some insight on the perspective of hospital managers on the current process of priority setting, and suggest ways to improve it. Additionally, this study will provide the opinions of hospital managers in questioning the effect of certain healthcare policies on healthcare system efficiency.
METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with 14 managers from public and private hospitals in Kuwait. Content analysis was used to produce major themes and sub-themes from the interview transcripts.
RESULTS: The main strength in the process that most managers from both sectors mentioned, was that it was simple, systematic, comprehensive and democratic. The several weaknesses of the process include it not being evidence-based due to the lack of accurate and up-to-date data. Most respondents, from both sectors, thought that the availability of a clear and well-communicated national health strategic plan would improve priority setting. Most respondents believed that the disadvantages of the costly practice of sending patients abroad for treatment and its effect on resource allocation outweighed its advantages. Further, the managers from both sectors had different perceptions regarding the policy of private health insurance for retirees.
CONCLUSION: Priority setting could be improved by having a better understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. The study concludes that health decision makers should remain responsible for accepting and implementing evidence-based, systematic processes of resource allocation. Additionally, continuous monitoring and evaluation of the impact of health policies will be required to improve overall health outcomes.
The recent drop in oil prices has challenged public sector financing in Kuwait. Technical and scale efficiency scores for fifteen public hospitals in Kuwait from 2010 to 2014 were estimated using a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA). Technical efficiency scores were regressed against institutional characteristics using Tobit regression to investigate the determinants of efficiency differences in hospitals. Semi-structured interviews were also carried out with fourteen public and private hospital managers to qualitatively explore their perceptions and experience about about factors affecting hospital efficiency.
The mean technical efficiency score for all hospitals was 85.8%, an improvement of 2% since 2010. The mean pure technical efficiency score was 79.6%, improving from 75% in 2010 to 81.2% in 2014. The mean scale efficiency score was 91.8%, improving from 87.6% in 2010 to 94.2% in 2014. Only three hospitals were constantly technically and scale efficient. Tobit regression showed that hospital efficiency was significantly associated with the average length of patient stay. Hospitals with more than 400 beds were potentially more technically and scale efficient. The qualitative study revealed that external factors affecting efficiency commonly included implemention of legislative changes and decreasing bureaucracy, while internal factors included increasing bed capacity and improving qualifications and training of human resources.
Most public hospitals in Kuwait were not technically and scale efficient, but improvements were observed. Potential factors that affected the efficiency of hospitals in Kuwait were identified. These findings are useful to decision-makers in Kuwait for developing strategies to improve public hospital efficiency.
Reports by Abdullah
Reports
Contact Us
abdullahmmalsabah@gmail.com