W ife beating, the most widespread form of domestic violence, has adverse consequences on the health and wellbeing of women and is a major cause of disability and death in many countries. 1 In the past few years, it has been widely reported in developing countries' contexts, 2 where patriarchal family norms are common. 3 In the Middle East, patriarchal gender relations reinforced by traditional cultural, legal, and perhaps religious legacies may have directly or indirectly influenced the persistence of violence against women. In fact, intimate partner violence is not considered a criminal act in many Arab countries. Available studies provide only limited insight into the prevalence of domestic violence in a patriarchal context. Furthermore, most previous studies of wife beating from developing countries focused on female respondents, thus neglecting men, the perpetrators of violence.Using data from independent samples of married men and women, this study investigated the prevalence of wife beating in the Palestinian refugee camps of Jordan. Specifically, the study aimed to examine the similarity between men's self reports of violence and women's reports of being subjected to domestic violence. The focus was on lifetime physical domestic violence against women, but estimates of current (past year) beating as well as injuries resulting from beating were also described. METHODSThis exploratory study used data from the recently completed living conditions survey of Jordan's refugee camps. This was a cross sectional survey of 2590 households selected randomly from 12 refugee camps using a sampling frame provided by Jordan's Department of Statistics. Some of the camps housed refugees displaced as a result of the 1967 war, others included refugees from the 1948-49 Arab-Israeli war. The instrument consisted of three questionnaires: one for the household, one for a randomly selected adult aged 15+ years from each household, and the third for all ever-married women. The data pertaining to wife beating were obtained by face to face interviews with randomly selected adults (adult questionnaire). The study was approved (including an ethical review) by Yarmouk University and the government of Jordan. Fieldwork took place in the spring and summer of 1999, with an overall response rate of 95%. Our original sample was reduced because of the eligibility criteria used for answering the domestic violence questions: currently married, living with spouse, and privacy during the interview. Of the total sample of 801 married adults, 395 persons (262 women and 133 men) were included in the study. There was remarkable similarity between our sample and the original one in terms of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. However, the selected sample was slightly younger (mean age 37.5) than the original (mean age 40), and hence included better educated respondents (29.8% compared with 25.8% with secondary education).We asked married women whether they had experienced specific acts of violence, including being slapped, grabbed, shove...

Background Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) remain inadequate in resource-scarce countries, particularly in conflict situations. This paper describes a multicomponent intervention for management of hypertension and diabetes among older adult Syrian refugees and the Lebanese host community and reflects on challenges for scaling up NCD integration into primary care in humanitarian situations. Methods Using a mixed method approach, the study focused on monitoring and evaluation of the three components of the intervention: healthcare physical facilities and documentation processes, provider knowledge and guideline-concordant performance, and refugee and host community awareness. Results Findings revealed overall high compliance of healthcare workers with completing data collection forms. Their knowledge of basic aspects of hypertension/diabetes management was adequate, but diagnosis knowledge was low. Patients and healthcare providers voiced satisfaction with the program. Yet, interruptions in medicines’ supplies and lapses in care were perceived by all study groups alike as the most problematic aspect of the program. Conclusions Our intervention program was aligned with internationally agreed-upon practices, yet, our experiences in the field point to the need for more ‘local testing’ of modified interventions within such contexts. This can then inform ‘thinking globally’ on guidelines for the delivery of NCD care in crisis settings.

Background-The negative effect of poverty on child health has been well established. However, rapid urbanization in developing countries prompts new research questions relating to socio-cultural practices and other related variables in these settings.

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