Child Health Care in Georgia.

We summarize the pediatric health care system in Georgia. In the 1990s, the socialist health insurance system was abandoned and replaced by a private health insurance system. In general, Georgia has a relatively high number of physicians per capita, and there are 3 times as many physicians per unit of population in Tbilisi than in other region.

Mainstreaming gender in disaster (review).

The results of literature review show that the socially constructed gender-specific vulnerability of females lead to the relatively higher female disaster mortality rates compared to men; the disaster impact differ across economic class, ethnicity, gender and other factors; natural disasters exacerbate previously existing patterns of discrimination that render females more vulnerable to the fatal impact of disasters. The adverse impact of disasters on females relative to men vanishes with rising socio-economic status of women. However, more inter-disciplinary research is needed to fully understand the interplay between mortality and gender in the presence of natural disasters.

Disasters and their consequences for public health.

Humanitarian emergencies, including natural and human-made disasters, conflicts and complex emergencies, constitute what has traditionally been considered the main threat to health security worldwide. Each year millions of people are affected by natural and man-made disasters around the world. Tornados, hurricanes, heavy rains and earthquakes resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and many more affected.

[University center on rare diseases, as a successful example of the integration of the clinical sector into the system of medical education].

There is substantiated appropriateness of the establishment of the University Center on Rare Diseases. It is indicated that the center could illustrate a successful integration of the clinical sector into the system of medical education. The model of the functioning of center and its regulations are presented.

Management options for rare diseases in children and adolescents in Georgia (experience of the country with transitional economy).

We present the results of our research and organizational work aimed at the management optimization for the rare diseases in Georgia (the Country with Transitional Economy). We compiled a list of the rare diseases actual for Georgia; elaborated algorythms and expert systems supporting the diagnosis making process for various clusters of the rare diseases; translated into Georgian and adapted textual materials regarding the management of various rare disorders; assessed the awareness level for the rare diseases of the pediatricians and general practioners in Georgia and attempted to raise it by organizing seminars and conferences, including international ones, in various regions of Georgia; elaborated a model of the expert system (based on the fuzzy logic principles) for unmasking the cases suspicious for the rare disease; laid the foundation for the national register of the rare diseases in children and adolescents; elaborated the module for post-graduate education regarding rare diseases; organized the center for the rare diseases.