UAE – UAE-based patient organizations and Pfizer have teamed up to jointly host the ‘Uniting our Voices’ initiative to improve cancer patient care across the Gulf region and raise awareness.
These advocacy groups include the Emirates Oncology Society (EOS), Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), and the Gulf Federation of Cancer Control, a federation of seven organizations in the United Arab Emirates.
Pfizer and the UAE-based organizations have joined forces to support the cancer care community and drive better patient outcomes throughout the region.
Through the Pfizer-supported event, healthcare professionals, industry leaders, and patient association groups come together to discuss the importance of advancing health literacy amongst cancer patients.
The health experts explored the cancer landscape in the Gulf region, the future of patient care, and strategies to improve cancer literacy across the region.
Collectively, the attendees and speakers agreed on the positive impact of creating understandable and actionable health information on cancer patients.
Enhancing health literacy in the region can play a key role in cancer care, with important implications for patient experience and outcomes.
In the UAE, 76% of adults have low health literacy which may prevent them from making informed decisions about their medical condition and treatment options.
The ‘Uniting our Voices’ initiative seeks to help cancer patients to overcome barriers to health services, promote information-seeking behaviour, and reduce the growing cancer burden in the UAE.
In his address, the President of the Emirates Oncology Society, Professor Humaid AlShamsi said: “Cancer diagnosis has been increasing across the Gulf region. The top four most diagnosed cancer types are breast cancer, thyroid cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer.”
He observed that a majority of cancer cases in the Gulf region are often diagnosed at advanced stages when the disease is less likely to be curable.
“This data reinforces the importance of cancer literacy to patients and health outcomes, and why the medical community should come together and join forces to raise awareness in the region,” stated Professor Humaid AlShamsi.
Commenting on the importance of unity in healthcare, Pfizer Gulf Medical Director, Dr. Nadine Tarcha said, “It is important that the healthcare industry works in unity to ensure that people have access to health information.”
She underscored that collaboration across the health sector will allow patients to comprehend and utilize their health information to make informed decisions and make proactive choices in their care, adding that patients have always been the North Star at Pfizer.
“Patient-centric initiatives are woven throughout our company to ensure we are doing all we can to meet their needs as we continue to build trusted, equitable, and bidirectional relationships with patients and patient advocacy organizations,” stated Dr. Nadine Tarcha.
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