Contribution to the Profession Award

Dr. Dia Kamel Hassan

Dr. Dia Kamel Hassan, who earned a Ph.D. in Health Services with a specialization in Health Management and Policy, received Walden University’s first Contribution to the Profession Award.

Hassan is a native of Lebanon who currently lives and works in the United Arab Emirates where she is director of quality at Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai City. Her dissertation examined the role of hospital accreditation standards in addressing quality problems at hospitals on a global level.

“Accreditation standards are one of the primary drivers of change in health care settings,” wrote faculty member Dr. Jim Goes in the letter nominating Hassan. “The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations has had an enormous positive effect on health care quality in the U.S. Several years ago, the commission expanded its influence globally by establishing the Joint Commission International.” 

JCI systems have been rolled out in health systems around the world, Goes explained, but up to this point there has been no research into whether JCI standards actually improve quality in a multicultural setting. This was the focus of Hassan’s research. 

Hassan traveled from Dubai to attend the awards dinner in July at the time of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Upon accepting the award, she said: “I admire Walden’s mission. I will definitely have a role in social change, especially in the Middle East. A lot of social change is needed there right now.”

“Dia’s findings have substantial implications for theory on quality improvement, for the design and credibility of accreditation standards, and for organizational and management practices in health care,” said Goes, who also edits Walden’s Journal of Social Change.

The results of Hassan’s study are already having a substantive impact on the field. She has been invited to present her results to the JCI, and she recently co-authored a book, Measuring Quality Performance in Health Care with management scholar Gopal K. Kanji, which shares and builds on her dissertation findings.

The other members of Hassan’s dissertation committee were Dr. Ruth Maurer and Dr. James Stahley, both of the School of Management.