Current Impact and Long-Term Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Iraqi Healthcare Systems: A Case Study

Janabi, Taysir Al; Chung, Sunny

doi:10.3390/epidemiologia3040032

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…For example, PHCs can offer treatment for acute respiratory infections and refer the patient if the case is severe; measles with an eye infection or complications should be immediately referred to the district hospital [ 29 ]. The progressive decline in healthcare services, high staff turnover, and the inadequate distribution of health facilities and human resources have led citizens to bypass the PHCs and seek care at the secondary or tertiary level [ 11 , 12 ]. For example, Salah Al-Deen has 50% (842) of the needed doctors in the governorate available, while only 17 are located in rural regions [ 30 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, more than 20% of the non-communicable deaths among Iraqis occur in young individuals (the primary workforce)—compared to 20% in Jordan and 17% in Iran—resulting in negative economic and social impacts [ 11 ]. The Iraqi healthcare system has undergone a transformational change in recent decades, shifting health service delivery from curative and hospital-based to primarily preventive care-based through the use of primary health centers (PHCs) [ 12 ]. There are two kinds of PHCs: main and small subcenters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Barriers to the Utilization of Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in Iraq

Janabi

2023

Epidemiologia

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Primary care has been viewed as a means to ensure equitable access to care, enhance efficiency within healthcare systems, and improve health service quality. In recent decades, Iraq has transformed its compromised health system, shifting the healthcare model from hospital-based to primary care through primary health centers (PHCs) and referral mechanisms. Based on an extensive literature review, this qualitative paper explores the healthcare utilization of PHCs in different regions of Iraq. It also identifies some barriers to PHC use and recommends evidence-based approaches for improving PHCs’ performance. Some reported challenges to better utilizing PHCs were the poor quality of services, patient dissatisfaction, long walking distance to a health center, and limited availability and affordability of the medications. If Iraq is to use primary care as a tool in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs), collaborative efforts addressing the facility-related factors should be a priority.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to the Utilization of Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in Iraq

Janabi

2023

Epidemiologia

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“…SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDTs can be incorporated into testing strategies where nucleic acid ampli cation test methods (such as rt-PCR) are not available, or turnaround time is too long to inform clinical decision-making or for undertaking public health measures such as contact tracing. In Iraq, the lag time between sample collection and PCR results exceeded two weeks, largely hindering their purpose (5). Prolonged turnaround times may be secondary to multiple factors, including limited human or nancial resources, sample transport requirements, and reagent shortages.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the use of COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Tests among displaced populations in Iraq: findings from a pilot project in four IDP camps

Ammar,

Wolfe,

Nagib

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background IOM piloted the use of Ag RDTs for COVID-19 in Iraq, in collaboration with FIND, the Global Alliance for Diagnostics, to facilitate access to testing and understand barriers and opportunities for testing in a displacement context. The purpose was to (i) evaluate the performance metrics of the Sure Status COVID-19 Antigen Card Test in this population; (ii) compare Ag RDT results across high- and low-probability cases, vaccination status, and symptom severity; and (iii) report participant perspectives on Ag RDT use for COVID-19 and other diseases. Methods Secondary analysis was conducted using de-identified cross-sectional data collected from November 2022-March 2023 in four IDP camps in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Data was collected during the recording, reporting, and monitoring processes of the pilot project using Ag RDTs for COVID-19 among displaced populations. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were conducted in Stata (version 17). Results The observed performance metrics of the Sure Status Ag RDT were as follows: sensitivity = 72.73% (95% CI: 69.56–75.80%); specificity = 99.74% (95% CI: 99.39–100%), PPV = 92.31% (95% CI: 92.31–94.15%), and NPV = 98.85% (95% CI: 98.11–99.58%). Ag RDT uptake was higher among women and symptomatic individuals, and preference for Ag RDTs was especially strong among illiterate respondents. The overall positivity of Ag RDTs and PCR results in this population remained lower than national averages. Concerningly, 23.39% of respondents declined an Ag RDT because they did not believe in COVID-19. Conclusions This pilot program was among the first to explore Ag RDT use in Iraqi Kurdistan. Over 99% of respondents reported satisfaction with their Ag RDT experience, and over 90% wanted to see Ag RDTs available for other diseases. These findings can inform implementation of RDTs and screening protocols for other infectious diseases, and patient perspectives on Ag RDTs for testing and screening of COVID-19 among displaced populations can inform health programming within Iraq and globally.

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“…1. shows how many public and private hospitals there are in Iraq today and how they are distributed [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discussing Artificial Intelligence's Role in Combatting the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review

2023

Mesopotamian Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

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The COVID-19 pandemic is considered one of the most dangerous diseases that have emerged in recent years, as it began at the end of 2019 in China and quickly spread to become a severe epidemic. This virus has become, in a short period of time, threatening millions of the earth's populations, and infected individuals show symptoms that may lead to the loss of their lives. In this article, the author concentrates on the significance and methods of artificial intelligence strategies in facing COVID-19 and the primary role of these technologies. AI techniques have been applied in various areas, including creating diagnostic tools, predicting disease transmission, identifying new treatments, and improving resource allocation. Moreover, these techniques have been employed to analyze medical images to find symptoms of COVID-19 in patients, speeding up diagnosis and reducing transmission risks. Public health professionals can more efficiently allocate resources thanks to machine learning models that have been trained on data from other pandemics to anticipate the spread of COVID-19 and identify possible outbreaks. Large datasets of currently available medications have also been analyzed using AI to find potential new molecules.

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Current Impact and Long-Term Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Iraqi Healthcare Systems: A Case Study

Cited by 4 publications

References 74 publications

Barriers to the Utilization of Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in Iraq

Barriers to the Utilization of Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in Iraq

Exploring the use of COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Tests among displaced populations in Iraq: findings from a pilot project in four IDP camps

Discussing Artificial Intelligence's Role in Combatting the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review

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