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Analysis and Description of Suicidal Burns Admitted to Al-Fayhaa General Hospital in Basra, Iraq, 2018

Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighbo... more Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighboring countries. This study aimed to describe the problem of self-burning in Basra province and investigate the associated factors. A prospective study was undertaken between October 2016 and May 2017 in Al-Fayhaa Burn Center. Data were collected from all patients admitted to the center for a self-inflicted burn. Sociodemographic information and cause of suicide were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, and clinical data were transcribed from hospital records. There were 62 cases (females 74%, males 26%) of self-burning during the 6 months data collection accounting for 22% of all burn admission. The age ranged from 9-56 years (mean 25.3, SD 10.8 year). The vast majority had no or only basic education (92%), 55% were married, 60% were from outside Basra city and 53% considered themselves from a poor socioeconomic background. The incident mostly occurred at home (84%) while the person was alone (91%) using kerosene as the burning material (82%). The total burn surface area ranged from 20-100% with a median of 80% (IQR 60-95). The median hospital stay was 5 days (IQR 1-12 days). In-hospital mortality rate was 72.6%. Suicide by self-burning seems not to be uncommon in Basra and require more attention from public health and social services. More research is required to provide a better estimation of the problem and in-depth understanding of the factors that contribute to the problem.

Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighbo... more Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighboring countries. This study aimed to describe the problem of self-burning in Basra province and investigate the associated factors. A prospective study was undertaken between October 2016 and May 2017 in Al-Fayhaa Burn Center. Data were collected from all patients admitted to the center for a self-inflicted burn. Sociodemographic information and cause of suicide were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, and clinical data were transcribed from hospital records. There were 62 cases (females 74%, males 26%) of self-burning during the 6 months data collection accounting for 22% of all burn admission. The age ranged from 9-56 years (mean 25.3, SD 10.8 year). The vast majority had no or only basic education (92%), 55% were married, 60% were from outside Basra city and 53% considered themselves from a poor socioeconomic background. The incident mostly occurred at home (84%) while the person was alone (91%) using kerosene as the burning material (82%). The total burn surface area ranged from 20-100% with a median of 80% (IQR 60-95). The median hospital stay was 5 days (IQR 1-12 days). In-hospital mortality rate was 72.6%. Suicide by self-burning seems not to be uncommon in Basra and require more attention from public health and social services. More research is required to provide a better estimation of the problem and in-depth understanding of the factors that contribute to the problem.

Disaster Risk Reduction in Iraq, 2018

Iraq is at risk of multiple hazards including both natural and man-made calamities. Little effort... more Iraq is at risk of multiple hazards including both natural and man-made calamities. Little
effort had been made before 2003 to address the disaster risk; even though many legislations
enacted to provide a relief in the event of the acute crisis, they were mainly focused on
the reactive response to the calamities without taking into consideration the prevention,
preparedness and mitigation approach. The recent years have witnessed some positive
attitude from the government and international society to develop strategies for disaster risk reduction in Iraq. Iraq for the first time has drafted a law that is distinctive for the disasters. The purpose of this article is to review the possibilities and challenges of disaster risk
reduction in Iraq.

Introduction: Doctors' shortage has remained a concern worldwide. The developed countries started... more Introduction: Doctors' shortage has remained a concern worldwide. The developed countries started aids to recruit international medical graduates (IMG) to cope with the defects that the health care system suffers from; however, this solution may not work in developing countries that have a limited resource and poor budget to spend on the health care system. This study aims to present an alternative way to approach the physicians' shortage by accelerating undergraduate medical education and reform some post-graduate courses in order to cope with this problem. Methods: The literature in PubMed/Medline and Google scholar were searched using such keywords as undergraduate medical education, physician shortage, health care reform, physicians' performance, medical curriculum. Results: The finding revealed that performance during undergraduate medical school does not have a relationship with the physician's performance post-graduation. Moreover, the overloaded curriculum and the years spent in undergraduate education have a negative impact on the students in terms of burn out, lack of competency, and loss of motivation in medicine. The method of education was found to have a positive effect on preparing good students and ultimately good physicians. Conclusion: Since performance in undergraduate years does not have an impact on the practice post-graduation, the developing countries may consider the option of changing the context, and abbreviating undergraduate medical education as a solution for physicians' shortage dilemma. Moreover, modifying some postgraduate majors such as family physician, and general practitioner to allow the physicians enter the practice in areas of need is recommended.

The Epidemiology of Burns in Basra, Iraq, 2017

Burns are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and an important public health probl... more Burns are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and an important public health problem in Iraq. The current
study was undertaken to describe epidemiological characteristics of hospitalized burn patients and investigate in-hospital mortality. The
study was undertaken at the Al-Fayhaa Burn Centre in Basra City through analyzing hospital records of patients admitted to the centre for
a new burn injury between January and December 2016. Data were extracted from all accessible files, entered into Epidata and analyzed
in Stata. Hospital records of 367 patients with an age range of 1 month to 77 years and a male to female ratio of 1:2 were analyzed. One
third of admissions were children aged 0 to 5 years: the most common mechanisms of injury were flame (51%) and scalds (41.7%). Total
body surface area (TBSA) burnt ranged from less than 1% to 100%, with a median of 30.0% (IQR 18.0, 45.0). Length of hospital stay
ranged from 0 to 5 months, with a median of 8 days (IQR 4, 12.5). In-hospital mortality was 22% and the independent factors for death
were TBSA and suicidal burns. Burns remain a major public health problem in Basra, especially in children, and require sustained multidisciplinary
action for their prevention and management. Improving hospital records and computerizing them is essential for better assessment
and follow-up of burn care practices.

Assessment of the Capacity and Capability of Burn Centers to Respond to Burn Disasters in Belgium: A Mixed-Method Study, 2019

Burn disaster is defined as a massive influx of patients that exceeds a burn center's capacity an... more Burn disaster is defined as a massive influx of patients that exceeds a burn center's capacity and capability. This study investigates the capacity and capability of burn centers to respond to burn disasters in the Belgian ground. Quantitative survey and qualitative semistructured interview questionnaires were administered directly to key informants of burn centers. The data collected from both methods were compared to get a more in-depth overview of the issue. Quantitative data were converted into a narrative to enrich the qualitative data and included in the thematic analysis. Finally, data from both methods were analyzed and organized into five themes. The Belgian Association of Burn Injury (BABI) has a specific prehospital plan for burn disaster management. Once the BABI Plan is activated, all burn centers respond as one entity. Burn Team (B-Team) is a professional team that is formed in case of urgent need and it is deployed to a scene or to nonburn specialized hospitals to help in disaster relief. The challenges for burn disasters response occur particularly in the area of triage, transfer, communication, funding, and training. We conclude that there is a variation in the capacity and capability of burn centers. Overall, the system of burn disaster management is advanced and it is comparable to other high-income countries. Nevertheless, further improvement in the areas of preparation, triage, communication, and finally training would make disaster response more resilient in the future. Therefore, there is still space for further improvement of the management of burn disasters in Belgium.

Annals of Internal Medicine

Introduction: Doctors' shortage has remained a concern worldwide. The developed countries started... more Introduction: Doctors' shortage has remained a concern worldwide. The developed countries started aids to recruit international medical graduates (IMG) to cope with the defects that the health care system suffers from; however, this solution may not work in developing countries that have a limited resource and poor budget to spend on the health care system. This study aims to present an alternative way to approach the physicians' shortage by accelerating undergraduate medical education and reform some post-graduate courses in order to cope with this problem. Methods: The literature in PubMed/Medline and Google scholar were searched using such keywords as undergraduate medical education, physician shortage, health care reform, physicians' performance, medical curriculum. Results: The finding revealed that performance during undergraduate medical school does not have a relationship with the physician's performance post-graduation. Moreover, the overloaded curriculum and the years spent in undergraduate education have a negative impact on the students in terms of burn out, lack of competency, and loss of motivation in medicine. The method of education was found to have a positive effect on preparing good students and ultimately good physicians. Conclusion: Since performance in undergraduate years does not have an impact on the practice post-graduation, the developing countries may consider the option of changing the context, and abbreviating undergraduate medical education as a solution for physicians' shortage dilemma. Moreover, modifying some postgraduate majors such as family physician, and general practitioner to allow the physicians enter the practice in areas of need is recommended.

Analysis and Description of Suicidal Burns Admitted to Al-Fayhaa General Hospital in Basra, Iraq, 2018

Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighbo... more Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighboring countries. This study aimed to describe the problem of self-burning in Basra province and investigate the associated factors. A prospective study was undertaken between October 2016 and May 2017 in Al-Fayhaa Burn Center. Data were collected from all patients admitted to the center for a self-inflicted burn. Sociodemographic information and cause of suicide were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, and clinical data were transcribed from hospital records. There were 62 cases (females 74%, males 26%) of self-burning during the 6 months data collection accounting for 22% of all burn admission. The age ranged from 9-56 years (mean 25.3, SD 10.8 year). The vast majority had no or only basic education (92%), 55% were married, 60% were from outside Basra city and 53% considered themselves from a poor socioeconomic background. The incident mostly occurred at home (84%) while the person was alone (91%) using kerosene as the burning material (82%). The total burn surface area ranged from 20-100% with a median of 80% (IQR 60-95). The median hospital stay was 5 days (IQR 1-12 days). In-hospital mortality rate was 72.6%. Suicide by self-burning seems not to be uncommon in Basra and require more attention from public health and social services. More research is required to provide a better estimation of the problem and in-depth understanding of the factors that contribute to the problem.

Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighbo... more Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighboring countries. This study aimed to describe the problem of self-burning in Basra province and investigate the associated factors. A prospective study was undertaken between October 2016 and May 2017 in Al-Fayhaa Burn Center. Data were collected from all patients admitted to the center for a self-inflicted burn. Sociodemographic information and cause of suicide were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, and clinical data were transcribed from hospital records. There were 62 cases (females 74%, males 26%) of self-burning during the 6 months data collection accounting for 22% of all burn admission. The age ranged from 9-56 years (mean 25.3, SD 10.8 year). The vast majority had no or only basic education (92%), 55% were married, 60% were from outside Basra city and 53% considered themselves from a poor socioeconomic background. The incident mostly occurred at home (84%) while the person was alone (91%) using kerosene as the burning material (82%). The total burn surface area ranged from 20-100% with a median of 80% (IQR 60-95). The median hospital stay was 5 days (IQR 1-12 days). In-hospital mortality rate was 72.6%. Suicide by self-burning seems not to be uncommon in Basra and require more attention from public health and social services. More research is required to provide a better estimation of the problem and in-depth understanding of the factors that contribute to the problem.

Disaster Risk Reduction in Iraq, 2018

Iraq is at risk of multiple hazards including both natural and man-made calamities. Little effort... more Iraq is at risk of multiple hazards including both natural and man-made calamities. Little
effort had been made before 2003 to address the disaster risk; even though many legislations
enacted to provide a relief in the event of the acute crisis, they were mainly focused on
the reactive response to the calamities without taking into consideration the prevention,
preparedness and mitigation approach. The recent years have witnessed some positive
attitude from the government and international society to develop strategies for disaster risk reduction in Iraq. Iraq for the first time has drafted a law that is distinctive for the disasters. The purpose of this article is to review the possibilities and challenges of disaster risk
reduction in Iraq.

Introduction: Doctors' shortage has remained a concern worldwide. The developed countries started... more Introduction: Doctors' shortage has remained a concern worldwide. The developed countries started aids to recruit international medical graduates (IMG) to cope with the defects that the health care system suffers from; however, this solution may not work in developing countries that have a limited resource and poor budget to spend on the health care system. This study aims to present an alternative way to approach the physicians' shortage by accelerating undergraduate medical education and reform some post-graduate courses in order to cope with this problem. Methods: The literature in PubMed/Medline and Google scholar were searched using such keywords as undergraduate medical education, physician shortage, health care reform, physicians' performance, medical curriculum. Results: The finding revealed that performance during undergraduate medical school does not have a relationship with the physician's performance post-graduation. Moreover, the overloaded curriculum and the years spent in undergraduate education have a negative impact on the students in terms of burn out, lack of competency, and loss of motivation in medicine. The method of education was found to have a positive effect on preparing good students and ultimately good physicians. Conclusion: Since performance in undergraduate years does not have an impact on the practice post-graduation, the developing countries may consider the option of changing the context, and abbreviating undergraduate medical education as a solution for physicians' shortage dilemma. Moreover, modifying some postgraduate majors such as family physician, and general practitioner to allow the physicians enter the practice in areas of need is recommended.

The Epidemiology of Burns in Basra, Iraq, 2017

Burns are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and an important public health probl... more Burns are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and an important public health problem in Iraq. The current
study was undertaken to describe epidemiological characteristics of hospitalized burn patients and investigate in-hospital mortality. The
study was undertaken at the Al-Fayhaa Burn Centre in Basra City through analyzing hospital records of patients admitted to the centre for
a new burn injury between January and December 2016. Data were extracted from all accessible files, entered into Epidata and analyzed
in Stata. Hospital records of 367 patients with an age range of 1 month to 77 years and a male to female ratio of 1:2 were analyzed. One
third of admissions were children aged 0 to 5 years: the most common mechanisms of injury were flame (51%) and scalds (41.7%). Total
body surface area (TBSA) burnt ranged from less than 1% to 100%, with a median of 30.0% (IQR 18.0, 45.0). Length of hospital stay
ranged from 0 to 5 months, with a median of 8 days (IQR 4, 12.5). In-hospital mortality was 22% and the independent factors for death
were TBSA and suicidal burns. Burns remain a major public health problem in Basra, especially in children, and require sustained multidisciplinary
action for their prevention and management. Improving hospital records and computerizing them is essential for better assessment
and follow-up of burn care practices.

Assessment of the Capacity and Capability of Burn Centers to Respond to Burn Disasters in Belgium: A Mixed-Method Study, 2019

Burn disaster is defined as a massive influx of patients that exceeds a burn center's capacity an... more Burn disaster is defined as a massive influx of patients that exceeds a burn center's capacity and capability. This study investigates the capacity and capability of burn centers to respond to burn disasters in the Belgian ground. Quantitative survey and qualitative semistructured interview questionnaires were administered directly to key informants of burn centers. The data collected from both methods were compared to get a more in-depth overview of the issue. Quantitative data were converted into a narrative to enrich the qualitative data and included in the thematic analysis. Finally, data from both methods were analyzed and organized into five themes. The Belgian Association of Burn Injury (BABI) has a specific prehospital plan for burn disaster management. Once the BABI Plan is activated, all burn centers respond as one entity. Burn Team (B-Team) is a professional team that is formed in case of urgent need and it is deployed to a scene or to nonburn specialized hospitals to help in disaster relief. The challenges for burn disasters response occur particularly in the area of triage, transfer, communication, funding, and training. We conclude that there is a variation in the capacity and capability of burn centers. Overall, the system of burn disaster management is advanced and it is comparable to other high-income countries. Nevertheless, further improvement in the areas of preparation, triage, communication, and finally training would make disaster response more resilient in the future. Therefore, there is still space for further improvement of the management of burn disasters in Belgium.

Annals of Internal Medicine

Introduction: Doctors' shortage has remained a concern worldwide. The developed countries started... more Introduction: Doctors' shortage has remained a concern worldwide. The developed countries started aids to recruit international medical graduates (IMG) to cope with the defects that the health care system suffers from; however, this solution may not work in developing countries that have a limited resource and poor budget to spend on the health care system. This study aims to present an alternative way to approach the physicians' shortage by accelerating undergraduate medical education and reform some post-graduate courses in order to cope with this problem. Methods: The literature in PubMed/Medline and Google scholar were searched using such keywords as undergraduate medical education, physician shortage, health care reform, physicians' performance, medical curriculum. Results: The finding revealed that performance during undergraduate medical school does not have a relationship with the physician's performance post-graduation. Moreover, the overloaded curriculum and the years spent in undergraduate education have a negative impact on the students in terms of burn out, lack of competency, and loss of motivation in medicine. The method of education was found to have a positive effect on preparing good students and ultimately good physicians. Conclusion: Since performance in undergraduate years does not have an impact on the practice post-graduation, the developing countries may consider the option of changing the context, and abbreviating undergraduate medical education as a solution for physicians' shortage dilemma. Moreover, modifying some postgraduate majors such as family physician, and general practitioner to allow the physicians enter the practice in areas of need is recommended.