General Oncology Care in Lebanon

Mohty, Razan; Tfayli, Arafat

doi:10.1007/978-981-16-7945-2_8

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Patients’ financial situations might be different and easier to manage in secondary hospitals where costs are usually lower. However, we think that our results could still be extrapolated to the global population since cancer care in Lebanon is primarily concentrated in tertiary university hospitals and less often at secondary hospitals[ 18 ]. Moreover, cancer management would be less than optimal in secondary centers with the financial deterioration we are witnessing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the economic crisis and drug shortage on Lebanese cancer patients’ care

Eid,

Jabbour,

Moujaes

et al. 2024

World J Clin Oncol

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BACKGROUND As a consequence of the economic crisis, the sociopolitical instability and the advent of the coronavirus disease-19 pandemic, nested challenges faced the Lebanese healthcare system. These have resulted in critical shortages of essential resources, including medications vital for oncologic patients. AIM To assess the ramifications of the ongoing economic crisis on oncology patient care focusing on our outpatient oncology department. METHODS A questionnaire was distributed during the month of February 2022 to oncology patients in Hôtel Dieu de France University Hospital in Beirut during their outpatient therapy. The primary objective was to assess the far-reaching impact of the economic crisis on patient care and the resulting psychological implications. RESULTS Among 182 interviewed patients, 31.87% experienced treatment interruption mainly due to acute drug shortages. Despite 87.91% of the patients benefiting from third-party coverage, 69.60% had to self-pay for their medications leading to 69.78% of patients perceiving that healthcare was more difficult to access after 2020. Psychologically, one-third of the patients exhibited symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, with 7 patients reporting suicidal ideations. Notably, 37.93% of patients who interrupted cancer treatment reported a history of comorbidities, and 89.66% who altered their treatment cited financial difficulties. CONCLUSION Lebanese cancer patients face complex challenges spanning economic, healthcare, and psychological realms. Income inequalities exacerbated by the economic crisis hindered healthcare access.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the economic crisis and drug shortage on Lebanese cancer patients’ care

Eid,

Jabbour,

Moujaes

et al. 2024

World J Clin Oncol

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“…For cancer care, the government established the ‘National Cancer Register’ in 2002 [ 5 ], which aimed to measure incidence and classification by type, age and sex, for example [ 6 ]. The ministry was able to provide oncology drugs free of charge since 1999 for all cancer patients in the country with no other formal health coverage [ 7 ], and ran some successful campaigns such as the yearly breast cancer screening campaigns.…”

Section: Cancer Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Cancer care in Lebanon and the climate-proofing of a burning phoenix

Ibrahim

2023

ecancer

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Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, has been burnt and rebuilt seven times, earning the title of an urban phoenix. Its strategic geolocation in the heart of the Mediterranean gave the country leverage for the economy, by becoming a hotspot for trade through its different ports. Its cultural and religious diversity provided a fertile ground for businesses to grow, most importantly the banking and healthcare sector. The strategic location also put the country in the eye of the storm of different major crises, leaving the small country a crippling state, swamped with political corruption, nepotism, fragile infrastructure, and an overall dysfunctional system. In October 2019, the collapse of the banking system led to a state of hyperinflation in the country, with the financial and economic crisis in Lebanon now ranked in the top 10 most severe crises episodes globally since the mid-nineteenth century. This crisis exposed the extent of corruption and dysfunctionality: a fragmented healthcare sector struggling to protect the vulnerable populations especially cancer patients, a workforce seeking exodus due to challenging work conditions amid a state of hyperinflation, and a fragile infrastructure unable to withstand climate changes in one of the hottest and driest areas on the planet, the Middle East. Despite being caught in this turmoil, Lebanon still managed to update its national climate pledge under the Paris Agreement. However, the financial recovery plan that is aiming to revive the economy and overcome short-term financial challenges, has a risk of affecting long-term climate-proofing efforts. In a multilevel crisis-torn country, it might be difficult to look on the impact of climate change in particular on cancer care, without accounting for the other ongoing troubles. In such circumstances, protecting public health becomes a major challenge yet a priority. The resilience of the system is currently being tested as the crisis evolves, and should be continuously monitored.

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General Oncology Care in Lebanon

Cited by 2 publications

References 9 publications

Impact of the economic crisis and drug shortage on Lebanese cancer patients’ care

Impact of the economic crisis and drug shortage on Lebanese cancer patients’ care

Cancer care in Lebanon and the climate-proofing of a burning phoenix

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