Identifying Expert Opinions on the Challenges and Barriers Faced in Implementing Iraq's National Plan for Controlling Hepatitis B.

Background: This study examined the difficulties and obstacles faced by healthcare professionals in implementing Iraq's national plan for hepatitis B virus (HBV) control. This research aims to offer valuable insights into the intricacies of HBV control efforts and identify key areas for improvement.

Methods: In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 10 physicians, representing diverse medical specialties and healthcare settings, including experts in the fields of medical sciences.

Human Brucellosis in Iraq: Spatiotemporal Data Analysis From 2007-2018.

Background: Brucellosis is both endemic and enzootic in Iraq, resulting in long-term morbidity for humans as well as economic loss. No previous study of the spatial and temporal patterns of brucellosis in Iraq was done to identify potential clustering of cases.

Objective: This study aims to detect the spatial and temporal distribution of human brucellosis in Iraq and identify any changes that occurred from 2007 to 2018.

Enhancing Public Health Surveillance: Outbreak Detection Algorithms Deployed for Syndromic Surveillance During Arbaeenia Mass Gatherings in Iraq.

Background: Large gatherings often involve extended and intimate contact among individuals, creating environments conducive to the spread of infectious diseases. Despite this, there is limited research utilizing outbreak detection algorithms to analyze real syndrome data from such events. This study sought to address this gap by examining the implementation and efficacy of outbreak detection algorithms for syndromic surveillance during mass gatherings in Iraq.

Good Practices and Initiatives for the Control and Elimination of Hepatitis B in the World: A Scoping Review.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant global public health challenge, leading to considerable morbidity and mortality. Implementation of effective strategies and novel initiatives is necessary to control and eliminate HBV. To identify the key approaches and actions used worldwide for HBV control and elimination, we conducted a comprehensive scoping review.

Strengthening Primary Healthcare in Jordan for Achieving Universal Health Coverage: A Need for Family Health Team Approach.

Achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is a strategic objective of the Jordanian government and has been prioritized in its strategies and plans. However, there are several challenges affecting primary healthcare in Jordan and the health system in general that prevent Jordan from achieving UHC. This paper highlights the importance of team-based care in the form of Family Health Teams (FHTs) to realize Jordan's goal of achieving UHC.

Performance evaluation of health houses in Iraq 2021-2022: A descriptive study.

Background: A health house (HH) is a basic health facility in rural Iraq. The function of a HH is to provide simple health services and treatments such as giving injections, dressing simple wounds, and monitoring mother and child health. The duties also include dispensing medications, measuring blood pressure, and the daily monitoring of chlorine levels in water.

Assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward sexually transmitted infections among Baghdad undergraduate students for research-guided sexual health education.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections are common and tend to cause a lot of public misconceptions. This study was conducted to identify knowledge gaps and negative attitudes toward sexually transmitted infections and infected individuals among undergraduate students and give recommendations accordingly for the development of more objective research-guided health campaigns and school sex education programs.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted between May 17, 2022 and June 2, 2022 using a self-administrated questionnaire containing 84 items related to sexually transmitted infections distributed online to Baghdad-based university students.

Perception and satisfaction of nephrology education and training in Iraq.

Background: Interest in training in nephrology is declining around the world. This is a particularly worrisome issue for future nephrology practice with the aging population and the increasing number of patients with kidney disease. We wished to understand the perception and measure the satisfaction of Iraqi medical interns regarding nephrology and explore factors affecting career decisions towards becoming a specialist nephrologist.

Barriers to the HPV vaccination program in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a narrative review.

Objective: The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is regarded as one of the most effective ways of preventing cervical cancer. Despite the massive burden of this disease, only two countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) have implemented a national HPV vaccination program. The aim of the present study was to assess the main barriers to the integration of HPV vaccination in the national vaccination programs of EMR countries.

Trends in the Incidence and Mortality of the Most Common Cancers in Iraq (Iraqi Cancer Registry 1999-2019).

Unlabelled: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Iraq following heart and cerebrovascular diseases. Assessment of incidence and mortality trends is essential for prioritizing cancer control in the national health policies and plans.

Aim: To determine the patterns and trends in the incidence and mortality of the leading types of cancers affecting the Iraqi population during the last two decades.

Costs of childhood vaccine delivery in Iraq: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: In recent years, Iraq has expanded and revised the childhood immunisation schedule, but estimates of the costs of the programme are unavailable. The objective of this study was to estimate the economic costs of delivering childhood vaccines in Iraq from a government perspective.

Setting: Health facilities were sampled using multistage probabilistic sampling and stratifying the country into three regions: Central and South, North/Kurdistan Region, and Retaken Areas.

Evaluation of dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in the pandemic response in Iraq: pandemic preparation within a recovering healthcare infrastructure.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate Iraq's health facility preparedness for the surge of hospitalised cases associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we review pandemic preparedness at both general and tertiary hospitals throughout all districts of Iraq. COVID-19 pandemic preparedness, for the purpose of this review, is defined as: (1) staff to patient ratio, (2) personal protective equipment (PPE) to staff ratio, (3) infection control measures training and compliance and (4) laboratory and surveillance capacity.

Impact of COVID-19 on Affected Individuals in Iraq Focusing on Deceased Cancer Patients.

Purpose: Mortality because of COVID-19 infections is continuously increasing among the high-risk groups, namely, elderly patients and those with underlying comorbidities including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory problems, and cancer. The study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on affected individuals in Iraq, focusing on the characteristics of COVID-19 deceased cases, with special emphasis on cancer as the associated comorbidity.

Patients And Methods: This is a retrospective review of the data collected from 15,852 case investigation records of deceased patients with COVID-19, from all over Iraq, between March 20, 2020, and December 20, 2021.

Risk Factors of COVID-19 Critical Outcomes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Multicountry Retrospective Study.

Background: The establishment of empirical evidence in the Eastern Mediterranean Region necessitates the implementation of wide-scale studies to describe the demographic, clinical features, and severity profile of patients with COVID-19.

Objective: This study aims to assess the patterns of COVID-19 severity and mortality in seven countries, and to determine the risk factors of COVID-19 severity and mortality.

Methods: This multicountry study was based on a retrospective review of medical records of hospitalized patients confirmed to have COVID-19.

Resilience of health systems in conflict affected governorates of Iraq, 2014-2018.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the resilience of health systems in four governorates affected by conflict from 2014 to 2018, and to convey recommendations.

Methods: Health managers from Al Anbar, Ninawa, Salah al-Din, and Kirkuk governorates discussed resilience factors of Primary Health Care services affected by the 2014-2017 ISIS insurgency in focus groups, and general discussions. Additional information was gathered from key informants and a UNICEF health facility survey.

Iraq experience in handling the COVID-19 pandemic: implications of public health challenges and lessons learned for future epidemic preparedness planning.

Background: Iraq has been exceptionally challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the already exhausted healthcare system.

Objectives: To describe the epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in Iraq, the government's response to the pandemic, and provide recommendations for further action.

Methods: A desk review of secondary data using the available reports on the epidemiological situation in Iraq as well as official governmental sources was conducted.

Mental health impacts of COVID-19 on healthcare workers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a multi-country study.

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic are under incredible pressure, which puts them at risk of developing mental health problems. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among HCWs responding to COVID-19 and its associated factors.

Methods: A multi-country cross-sectional study was conducted during July-August 2020 among HCWs responding to COVID-19 in nine Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries.

Mobility indicators and COVID-19 growth ratio in Iraq: a correlation study.

Background: There is no prior study of the effect of mobility-limiting measures on the occurrence of COVID-19 in Iraq.

Objectives: To determine the relationship between publicly available mobility index data and the growth ratio (GR) of COVID-19.

Method: We used Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports to extract Iraq's mobility data and the official Ministry of Health COVID-19 statements.

Impact of Modifiable Risk Factors on the Occurrence of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Diyala, Iraq: Case-Control Study.

Background: In 2018, an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) occurred in Diyala Province in Iraq. Several risk factors of CL were identified in a prior study; however, the impact of removing modifiable risk factors on the occurrence of the disease was not measured.

Objective: The aim of this study is to measure the impact of removing modifiable risk factors of CL on the occurrence of the disease.

Real-Time Surveillance of Infectious Diseases, Injuries, and Chronic Conditions During the 2018 Iraq Arba'een Mass Gathering.

The Arba'een pilgrimage in Iraq is now the largest annual gathering in a single place worldwide. To monitor and address the health needs of pilgrims in field clinics near the pilgrimage route, a syndromic surveillance system was designed and implemented by Global Health Development/Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network in collaboration with Iraq Ministry of Health. This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of the surveillance system and the data it gathered in evaluating the burden of common acute and infectious conditions, chronic conditions, and trauma and injuries during the Arba'een pilgrimage in 2018.

Estimating global injuries morbidity and mortality: methods and data used in the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study.

Background: While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria.

Methods: In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation.