Developing a Public Health Monitoring System in a War-torn Region: A Field Report From Iraqi Kurdistan

Abstract

Wars, terrorism, and embargos destroyed facilities and shattered the public health system of Iraq. Today, there is limited documented knowledge about the health situation of the Iraqi population, particularly because health data are not systematically collected. Therefore, the capacity of the health system to address the major health problems of the population is considerably reduced. This report describes the implementation, started in 2015, of an electronic system for epidemiological monitoring and health surveillance, designed to collect and manage health care data in Iraqi Kurdistan. The aim of the program is to network all of the main health centers and hospitals of the region, then of the whole country, and to train medical and administrative staff in the management and analysis of health data. In countries recovering from war, a functioning health monitoring system is essential in guiding the development of appropriate public health interventions, a key instrument to prepare the health system to respond to future emergencies.

Home-based rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in the Kurdistan region of Iraq: epidemiology and outcomes

“…It is unsurprising that the timeframe from date of injury to ACL surgery was much longer (mean of 40 months), compared to 6–12 months reported in developed countries [ 1 , 16 ]. This may have contributed to the high percentage of meniscal tears and chondral lesions among this cohort and likely reflects the inaccessibility and inadequacies of health care in Iraq, particularly the limited number of specialist surgeons [ 3 , 8 , 8 ]. Limited research capacity [ 8 ], accredited courses and qualified health care educators hinder the development of specialist skills across all health care professions [ 17 ].…”

“…Iraq is an economically developing country [ 6 ] in which the quality of health care has declined over the past 30 years as a result of multiple wars and embargoes [ 3 ]. Kurdistan is an autonomous region of Iraq which has become a safe place for many refugees and internally displaced people resulting in increasing pressure on local health care [ 3 ].…”

Disability-Adjusted Life Years and Mortality Rate Attributed to Brain and Central Nervous System Cancer in the Middle East and North Africa Countries

“…Given the effect of the war in Palestine and several other countries in MENA, for recent years, the increase in the incidence rate of CNS cancers may also be due to the increased access to diagnostic tests such as CT scan during this period [20]. However, the nature of war and political instability are the main causes of the destruction of health infrastructure within these countries [21,22], decreasing access to cancer prevention and con-trol programs. The stressful lifestyle within the war plus the destruction of health infrastructures can add to the burden of CNS cancers [23,24].…”

The Challenges of Establishing Healthcare Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Case of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq—Report from the Field

“…The dominant shortage in the care system for ASD is that the diagnosis and support system is poorly documented, mainly because support and services data are not systematically collected. Instead of being kept electronically, they are primarily paper-based and organized [ 35 ]. The aim was to collect non-aggregated data in a format suited for analysis or management.…”