Evaluation of health system in Iraq from people's point of view: a comparative study of two different eras

Abstract

Background: Since the 2003 United States–British Coalition military invasion, Iraq has been in a state of continuous deterioration at all levels, including the health sector. This study aimed to elicit the viewpoints of the Iraqi people on the current health system, focusing on many provided health services and assessing whether the public prefers the current health system or that was provided before the invasion.
 Methods: A cross-sectional survey designed to explore the Iraqi people’s opinions on their health system. A self-administered questionnaire using a multi-stage sampling technique was distributed in five geographical regions in Iraq to collect the data from the head of household between 1st October and 31st of December 2019. Multiple logistic regressions were recruited to determine the significant contributing variables in this study.
 Results: A total of 365 heads of households (response rate: 71.7%) with the mean age of 48.36 + 11.92 years (ranged 35-78) included in the study. Most of the respondents (61.4%) complained of healthcare inaccessibility, 59.7% believed that health resources were not available, 53.7% claimed a deterioration in the quality of care, and 62.2% believed that the political / media position did not contribute to positive changes during the past two decades. Indeed, most respondents (66.0%) believe that the current healthcare system is worse than before. In the multivariate analysis, there was a statistically significant relationship between the characteristics and opinions of the respondents. Young age group (p = 0.003), men (p = < 0.001), unmarried (p = 0.001), high educated (p = < 0.001), rural resident (p = < 0.001), unemployed (p = 0.003), monthly income of less than USD 400 (p = < 0.001), consider themselves to be unhealthy (p = 0.001), and those who think that people are unhappy now than two decades ago (p = 0.012) have a more negative opinion of the health system.
 Conclusions: Most Iraqis surveyed expressed disappointment from the health system after the 2003 US-led invasion. The current health system is faltering at all levels and does not meet the citizens' basic needs. Health Transformation Program (HTP) has become inevitable to develop an accessible, affordable, high-quality, efficient, and effective health system.

The Motivation of Preclinical Students to be A Doctor: A Turkish Perspective in the Private Educational Sector

“…Hence, it is a matter of happiness, gaining community respect, and making family members proud 2,13,18 . Moreover, the graduated doctors do not have difficulty finding a job in Turkey because of the high employment rate of doctors compared to neighboring countries such as Iraq 2,19 . Furthermore,the World Health Organization report estimated the needsbased shortage of health care workers in 2013 at about 17.4 million globally, including nearly 2.6 million physicians 20 to earlier studies 2,14 , a childhood dream of becoming a doctor was at the top of the reasons for 39.2% of students.…”

Prevalence Rate of Rheumatoid Arthritis among Patients Attending Rheumatology Consultation Clinic at Baquba Teaching Hospital

“…In the profile of Iraq, the wheel of decline in the Iraqi health system has not stopped since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 [10]. Compared to the advanced and professional health system in the seventies of the last century, the current health system has been unable to meet the lowest levels of health services due to poor management and widespread corruption [11]. Hence, the objective of this study was explore the prevalence of Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) among middle-aged and older of Iraqi patients attended the outpatients' clinics.…”

Attitude and intention of Iraqi healthcare providers to get vaccinated against COVID-19: a cross-sectional study

“…Moreover, many Iraqis consider the infection with COVID-19 as a social stigma, which has further contributed to worsening the health situation [17]. Unfortunately, the noncompliance of many Iraqi people with preventive measures made public health institutions a source of infection.…”

“…Unfortunately, the noncompliance of many Iraqi people with preventive measures made public health institutions a source of infection. Most healthcare providers have contracted COVID-19 and become carriers of the infection in their environments [17]. The increased workload and the absence of the necessary legal legislation to protect HCPs forced many of them to leave work due to the repeated occurrence of workplace violence by patients and their relatives [18].…”