Syria's lost generation of doctors

Abbara, Aula; Orcutt, Miriam; Gabbar, Omar Abdul

doi:10.1136/bmj.h3479

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Ben Taleb et al described how the deterioration of health care was not only a consequence of the conflict, but in many instances a result of this systematic targeting of hospitals and medical staff [ 62 ]. Abbara et al reported that in 2014, one health worker was, on average, killed every other day [ 12 ]. Health workers were also threatened by the different armed groups to force them to treat their members preferentially.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Health workers were also threatened by the different armed groups to force them to treat their members preferentially. There were also reports that some doctors were arrested, tortured, and killed, for helping injured protesters; other doctors who support the regime reportedly had to show loyalty by mishandling injured people or letting them die [ 12 , 63 - 66 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Physicians for Humans Rights has reported that, since the start of the conflict till September 2016, 782 medical personnel have been killed [ 9 ] and an inestimable number of medical professionals were threatened and detained. For example, Syrian authorities criminalized in 2012 the provision of health care to opposition fighters or supporters [ 12 , 13 ]. This contravened international humanitarian law rule that under no circumstances shall any person be punished for carrying out medical activities compatible with medical ethics, regardless of the person benefiting therefrom [ 13 ].…”

Section: The Syrian Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The attack on medical facilities and health workers and the lack of security led to an exodus of skilled health professionals [ 14 ]. By 2013, 70% of the health workforce had left the country, leaving enormous breach in practice [ 12 , 15 ]. For example, the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) reported that in 2014 only 20 doctors, including 2 vascular surgeons and one plastic surgeon, were remaining in Aleppo [ 16 ].…”

Section: The Syrian Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Health Care Workers in the setting of the “Arab Spring”: a scoping review for the Lancet-AUB Commission on Syria

Bou-Karroum

Daou

Nomier

et al. 2018

Journal of Global Health

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Background“Health Care Workers in Conflict Areas” emerged as one of the priority themes for a Lancet Commission addressing health in conflict. The objective of our study was to conduct a scoping review on health workers in the setting of the Syrian conflict, addressing four topics of interest: violence against health care workers, education, practicing in conflict setting, and migration.MethodsConsidering the likelihood of scarcity of data, we broadened the scope of the scoping review to include indirect evidence on health care workers from other countries affected by the “Arab Spring”. We electronically searched six electronic databases. We conducted descriptive analysis of the general characteristics of the included papers. We also used the results of this scoping review to build an evidence gap map.ResultsOut of the 11 165 identified citations, 136 met our eligibility criteria. The majority of the articles tackled the issue of violence against health care workers (63%) followed by practicing in conflict setting (19%), migration (17%) and education (10%). Countries in focus of most articles were: Syria (35%), Iraq (33%), and Bahrain (29%). News, editorials, commentaries and opinion pieces made up 81% of all included papers, while primary studies made up only 9%. All the primary studies identified in this review were conducted on Iraq. Most of the articles about violence against health care workers were on Bahrain, followed by Syria and Iraq. The first and corresponding authors were most frequently affiliated with institutions from non-Arab countries (79% and 79% respectively).ConclusionsResearch evidence on health care workers in the setting of the “Arab Spring” is scarce. This review and the gap map can inform the research agendas of funders and researchers working in the field of health care workers in conflict setting. More well-designed primary studies are needed to inform the decisions of policymakers and other interested parties.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Syrian Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Syrian Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Health Care Workers in the setting of the “Arab Spring”: a scoping review for the Lancet-AUB Commission on Syria

Bou-Karroum

Daou

Nomier

et al. 2018

Journal of Global Health

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“…Some of the most affected were those near the end of their degrees with little option to transfer to other universities inside Syria given security concerns including the risk of arrest by the GoS if they were thought to oppose the government or to have studied at 'opposition institutions.' [13,14] For students and academic staff who remained in the NGCAs, some were able to continue their studies/lecturing in underground classrooms but others had to suspend their studies/academic career and contribute to humanitarian and healthcare provision to civilians affected by the conflict [13,24]. Some were killed either during attacks on universities or during the course of the war [4].…”

Section: Undergraduate Education Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges of providing healthcare worker education and training in protracted conflict: a focus on non-government controlled areas in north west Syria

et al. 2020

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Without healthcare workers (HCWs), health and humanitarian provision in Syria cannot be sustained either now or in the post-conflict phase. The protracted conflict has led to the exodus of more than 70% of the healthcare workforce. Those remaining work in dangerous conditions with insufficient resources and a healthcare system that has been decimated by protracted conflict. For many HCWs, particularly those in non-government-controlled areas (NGCAs) of Syria, undergraduate education and postgraduate training has been interrupted with few opportunities to continue. In this manuscript, we explore initiatives present in north west Syria at both undergraduate and postgraduate level for physician and non-physician HCWs. Conclusion: Challenges to HCW education in north west Syria can be broadly divided into 1. Organisational (local healthcare leadership and governance, coordination and collaboration between stakeholders, competition between stakeholders and insufficient funding.) 2. Programmatic (lack of accreditation or recognition of qualifications, insufficient physical space for teaching, exodus of faculty affecting teaching and training, prioritisation of physicians over non-physicians, informally trained healthcare workers.) 3. Healthcare system related (politicisation of healthcare system, changing healthcare needs of the population, ongoing attacks on healthcare.) Locally implementable strategies including dedicated funding are key to supporting retention of HCWs and return during post-conflict reconstruction.

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Identifying Needs, Vulnerabilities and Resources in Refugee Persons and Groups

Wenzel¹,

Völkl-Kernstock

Wittek

et al. 2018

An Uncertain Safety

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Syria's lost generation of doctors

Abstract: Aula Abbara, Miriam Orcutt, and Omar Gabbar report on the difficulties facing doctors who flee Syria

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Health Care Workers in the setting of the “Arab Spring”: a scoping review for the Lancet-AUB Commission on Syria

Health Care Workers in the setting of the “Arab Spring”: a scoping review for the Lancet-AUB Commission on Syria

Challenges of providing healthcare worker education and training in protracted conflict: a focus on non-government controlled areas in north west Syria

Identifying Needs, Vulnerabilities and Resources in Refugee Persons and Groups

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