Healthcare professionals’ attitude towards and experience with effective leadership: How much progress have we made?

Background: Leadership is an essential element in creating an effective healthcare system that aims to enhance staff satisfaction, improve the productivity and efficiency of teams, minimize conflicts, and develop an organizational culture committed to quality. Objectives: To investigate the experience of and attitudes about the impact of effective leadership on healthcare organizations among healthcare providers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional study was conducted among licensed UAE healthcare professionals. A web-based self-administered questionnaire was sent to the email addresses of the potential respondents. Results: A total of 438 healthcare professionals enrolled in the study. The average age of the participant was 31 ± 6.1 SD. The average attitude score about the impact of effective leadership on healthcare organizations was 76.1%, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [74.6%, 77.6%]. The statistical modeling results revealed that gender, major, and university of graduation were jointly highly associated with attitudes about the impact of effective leadership on healthcare organizations. Conclusions: There is a need for a more thorough investigation into which leadership behaviors and competencies are crucial in healthcare contexts, allowing for more targeted training and interventions. Further, longitudinal research is necessary to determine whether leadership development programs have a sustained effect on care quality and patient outcomes.