Public health workforce reform in Abu Dhabi: a pathway to evidence-based policy and global standards alignment

Abstract

Reforming the public health workforce in Abu Dhabi and across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became increasingly urgent during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside wider pressures from evolving public health challenges and health-system transformation. A mixed-methods study was conducted with public health stakeholders in the UAE between November 2024 and February 2025. The present analysis focuses on qualitative data drawn from two complementary sources: responses to open-ended items in an online survey completed by 19 participants and semi-structured interviews with 12 senior decision-makers. The study was informed by the WHO–ASPHER Competency Framework and the WHO Health System Building Blocks Framework. Qualitative data from both sources were integrated and analysed thematically as a single dataset. The findings are presented as an in-depth account of this bounded expert group rather than as generalisable estimates. Stakeholders reported major gaps in workforce planning, limited awareness and use of competency frameworks, weak alignment between education and practice, limited Emiratization in public health roles, and fragmentation across governance structures. Findings from the survey’s open-ended items were integrated with the interview data and analysed thematically alongside them; education and training, and governance and policy, were the concerns most consistently raised across both data sources. Qualitative analysis identified six overarching themes: fragmented governance, competency and training gaps, curriculum-practice misalignment, Emiratization and career barriers, lessons from COVID-19, and the need for a unified national strategy. Public health workforce reform in Abu Dhabi requires a coordinated cross-sector response that aligns competencies, curricula, regulation, and career pathways, while strengthening governance, integration, and long-term sustainability.