Aula Abbara
Biographic Data
| ID | 1724412 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Aula Abbara |
| GIVEN NAMES | Aula |
| FAMILY NAME | Abbara |
| SIGNATURE | ABBARA A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Imperial College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7049-8399 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 31 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 30 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Azithromycin mass drug administration to reduce childhood mortality in humanitarian crises
Azithromycin mass drug administration (MDA) can reduce under-5 mortality in stable but high-mortality settings, yet its potential in humanitarian crises remains undefined. This review proposes that azithromycin MDA could support existing humanitarian interventions and help address mortality from respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in displaced populations. Mortality rates in crises frequently exceed WHO recommended thresholds for initiati…
From ground realities to policy
INTRODUCTION: Understanding and evaluating health system governance is essential for resilient health systems. This study develops a framework to analyse health system governance in conflict-affected and high-risk areas, including fragmented systems. METHODS: The methodology adopts a qualitative multi-faceted approach, encompassing five methods: consultations with experts, thematic analysis of existing health system governance frameworks, focus g…
Healthcare providers’ perspectives on antimicrobial resistance in Northwest Syria
Background: Armed conflict contributes to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Understanding healthcare providers' perceptions is essential for identifying key determinants and developing contextualised recommendations. This study explored perceptions of AMR among healthcare providers in northwest Syria - a conflict-affected area- before the fall of the Syrian regime in December 2024. Methods: A qualitative study was cond…
Refugees and asylum seekers in Europe need a rights-based approach to the issue of return
BOX European asylum policies have become increasingly restrictive, raising concerns about the protection of refugee rights, including access to healthcare and adherence to the principle of non-refoulement
Mpox exposes fundamental obstacles for vaccinating children in outbreaks
box Children could not be included in mpox vaccination roll-out within the first 100 days of the latest Mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and are yet to be rolled out in many countries with rising cases, despite this age group accounting for a large proportion of suspected cases and deaths
Peripheral extremity surgery performed during the Syrian conflict – A scoping review
The protracted Syrian conflict has devastated healthcare infrastructure across Syria with impacts on both the conflict and non-conflict related surgical needs of patients. This review summarises the literature related to peripheral limb surgery performed in Syria between March 2011 to January 2024 to determine the influence of the conflict on surgical capacity and provision. A systematic review based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Re…
The doom loop of conflict and unsustainability
Climate change, armed conflict, forced displacement, and epidemic-prone diseases
Conflict, environmental factors, forced displacement, and infectious diseases are inextricably linked in northern Syria. These findings can inform public health preparedness and anticipatory activities and policies that address the effects of climate change on infectious diseases. This is especially relevant as Syria enters a new geopolitical chapter following the fall of the Assad regime, with changing health needs, population movement, and new …
Syrian refugee and diaspora healthcare professionals
Now is an important opportunity to support Syrian and other refugee HCPs who have been forced to leave their homes to capitalise on their skills to explore the impacts of potentially effective policies and interventions. Such policies that aim to invest in refugee HCPs' skills, further develop their aptitudes, and potentially establish a connection between them and their homeland in a mutually beneficial manner for both health systems in exile an…
Quantifying the effects of attacks on health facilities on health service use in Northwest Syria
BACKGROUND: Throughout the Syrian conflict, the Syrian government has intentionally attacked health facilities, violating International Humanitarian Law. Previous studies have qualitatively described health system disruptions following attacks on healthcare or established associations between armed conflict and health service utilisation, but there are no quantitative studies exploring the effects of health facility attacks. Our unprecedented stu…
AI in conflict zones
O Objetivo deste trabalho e argumentar contra a ideia de que a violencia e alguma especie de irracionalidade, pois parte do principio de que existe uma racionalidade intrinseca a violencia. No curso de nossa exposicao, sera abordada sumariamente a evolucao das discussoes em torno do conceito de razao e da conexao entre racionalidade e violencia, como tambem o debate em torno da questao do “mal”, com o intuito de indicar como este se tornou o pont…
An analysis of humanitarian and health aid harmonisation over a decade (2011–2019) of the Syrian conflict
INTRODUCTION: Aid harmonisation is a key component of donor efforts to make aid more effective by improving coordination and simplifying and sharing information to avoid duplication. This study evaluates the harmonisation of health and humanitarian aid in Syria during acute humanitarian and health crises from 2011 to 2019. METHODS: Data on humanitarian and health aid for Syria between 2011 and 2019 was collected from the Organisation for Economic…
The cascading impacts of attacks on health in Syria
Syria has experienced over a decade of armed conflict, characterized by targeted violence against healthcare. The impacts of these attacks have resulted in both direct and indirect attacks on health and reverberating effects on local communities. This study aims to explore the perspectives of health workers based in northern Syria who have experienced such attacks on health to understand the impacts on the health system as well as communities ser…
Respiratory health and the Syrian conflict
Conflict adversely affects respiratory health in both direct and indirect ways among populations whose health is already compromised through the compounding effects of conflict. Our aim is to review academic and grey literature relevant to respiratory health in the Syrian conflict (now more than a decade in duration) to explore its impacts on populations across Syria. We performed a scoping literature review of academic and grey literature on res…
Exploring relationships between conflict intensity, forced displacement, and healthcare attacks
We find that healthcare facilities are not avoided during conflict (as obliged under IHL), and that healthcare attacks significantly precede an escalation of general conflict in the same area. Healthcare attacks are also significantly associated with displacement for months following the attacks, even when accounting for conflict levels. Based on these findings, we present a framework outlining one pathway through which healthcare attacks may con…
Accessing breast cancer care in a protracted conflict
Factors associated with adverse outcomes among patients hospitalized at a Covid-19 treatment center in Herat, Afghanistan
Though many studies on COVID have been published to date, data on COVID-19 epidemiology, symptoms, risk factors and severity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICS), such as Afghanistan are sparse. To describe clinical characteristics, severity, and outcomes of patients hospitalized in the MSF COVID-19 treatment center (CTC) in Herat, Afghanistan and to assess risk factors associated with severe outcomes. 1113 patients were included in this o…
Policy versus practice
The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed interest in streamlining processes which allow refugee doctors and other healthcare workers to make up for the shortfall in healthcare delivery, which many countries are facing increasingly. The protracted conflict in Syria is the biggest driver of forced displacement internationally with refugees, including healthcare workers seeking safety in host countries, however many face challenges to entering the workforc…
Disruption to water supply and waterborne communicable diseases in northeast Syria
While no strong immediate correlation could be established between disruptions to WASH and WBDs in northeast Syria, further research is essential to explore the impact of conflict-associated damage to civil infrastructure including WASH. This is vital though challenging given confounding factors which affect both WASH and WBDs in contexts like northeast Syria. As such, research which includes exploration of mitigation after damage to WASH is esse…
The lived experience of patients with conflict associated injuries whose wounds are affected by antimicrobial resistant organisms
This is the first exploration through qualitative research of the experiences of those with conflict-affected wounds which are infected with AMR organisms in NWS. Emerging themes as told by participants can help stakeholders, including policy makers, humanitarian organisations and those involved with health system planning in NWS consider gaps in current and future care needs (including livelihood opportunities) for this vulnerable group
Actually, the psychological wounds are more difficult than physical injuries
Violence against healthcare in Syria has had profound and lasting impacts on the health workforce due to the relentless and intentional targeting of healthcare facilities. They not only face the challenges of providing care for a conflict-affected population but are also part of the community themselves. They also face ethical dilemmas in their work leading to moral distress and moral injury. Donors must support funding for psychosocial support f…
Protracted armed conflict and maternal health
INTRODUCTION: Syria's protracted conflict has devastated the health system reversing progress made on maternal health preconflict. Our aim is to understand the state of maternal health in Syria focused on underage pregnancy and caesarean sections using a scoping review and quantitative analysis; the latter draws on data from the Syrian American Medical Society's (SAMS) maternal health facilities in northwest Syria. METHODS: We performed a scoping…
The health of internally displaced people in Syria
This manuscript presents some of the current issues with regards to IDP health in Syria, however, there remain numerous unknowns, both for the health of IDP as well as non-IDP populations. We hope that it will be the foundation for further discussions on practical steps relating to research, analysis and interventions which can support health system responses for IDPs in Syria
Healthcare leadership in Syria during armed conflict and the pandemic
Syria’s protracted conflict has driven an exodus of healthcare workers through the weaponisation of healthcare, leaving a diminished pool from which medical and healthcare leaders can arise. Prior to the conflict, a lack of transparency, poor accountability and nepotism have influenced appointments to positions of power and influence in Syria, weakening such structures. Despite this, there has been some evidence of strong leadership in key organi…
Whose voices should shape global health education? Curriculum codesign and codelivery by people with direct expertise and lived experience
There are contrasting opinions of what global health (GH) curricula should contain and limited discussion on whose voices should shape it. In GH education, those with first-hand expertise of living and working in the contexts discussed in GH classrooms are often absent when designing curricula. To address this, we developed a new model of curriculum codesign called Virtual Roundtable for Collaborative Education Design (ViRCoED). This paper descri…
Ten years of war! You expect people to fear a ‘germ’?”
This study is the first to explore perspectives and lived experiences of internally-displaced Syrians in the weeks prior to the COVID-19 epidemic in Northwest Syria. The challenging living conditions of internally-displaced people in Syria are further threatened by the spread of COVID-19. Tailored control measures are urgently needed to reduce COVID-19 transmission in camps
Syrian refugee and diaspora healthcare professionals
Now is an important opportunity to support Syrian and other refugee HCPs who have been forced to leave their homes to capitalise on their skills to explore the impacts of potentially effective policies and interventions. Such policies that aim to invest in refugee HCPs' skills, further develop their aptitudes, and potentially establish a connection between them and their homeland in a mutually beneficial manner for both health systems in exile an…
Health workers and the weaponisation of health care in Syria
A Qualitative Research Study Which Explores Humanitarian Stakeholders’ Views on Healthcare Access for Refugees in Greece
Introduction: As of January 2020, 115,600 refugees remain in Greece; most are Afghani, Iraqi or Syrian nationals. This qualitative research study explores the views of key stakeholders providing healthcare for refugees in Greece between 2015 and 2018. The focus was on identifying key barriers and facilitators to healthcare access for refugees in Greece. Methods: 16 interviewees from humanitarian and international organisations operating in Greece…
Ten years of war! You expect people to fear a ‘germ’?”
This study is the first to explore perspectives and lived experiences of internally-displaced Syrians in the weeks prior to the COVID-19 epidemic in Northwest Syria. The challenging living conditions of internally-displaced people in Syria are further threatened by the spread of COVID-19. Tailored control measures are urgently needed to reduce COVID-19 transmission in camps
Healthcare leadership in Syria during armed conflict and the pandemic
Syria’s protracted conflict has driven an exodus of healthcare workers through the weaponisation of healthcare, leaving a diminished pool from which medical and healthcare leaders can arise. Prior to the conflict, a lack of transparency, poor accountability and nepotism have influenced appointments to positions of power and influence in Syria, weakening such structures. Despite this, there has been some evidence of strong leadership in key organi…
Whose voices should shape global health education? Curriculum codesign and codelivery by people with direct expertise and lived experience
There are contrasting opinions of what global health (GH) curricula should contain and limited discussion on whose voices should shape it. In GH education, those with first-hand expertise of living and working in the contexts discussed in GH classrooms are often absent when designing curricula. To address this, we developed a new model of curriculum codesign called Virtual Roundtable for Collaborative Education Design (ViRCoED). This paper descri…
Armed conflict alone does not explain the devastation of Yemen’s health system
box Driven by the prolonged internal conflict, external aggression, economic decline and scarcity of resources, Yemen faces the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.1 The ongoing violence has played a fundamental role in shaping this humanitarian crisis. However, violence alone cannot account for the extent of suffering across the country and the collapse of the health system; other factors need to be considered with the aim of drawing strategies to…
Understanding the health needs of internally displaced persons
We seek to strengthen understanding of the health needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in contexts of conflict or violence. Based upon a scoping review, our paper identified limited evidence on IDP health, but nevertheless indicates that IDPs tend to experience worse health outcomes than other conflict-affected populations across a range of health issues; and this is due to the particularly vulnerable situation of IDPs relative to these o…
Women Leaders in Syria in the Covid-19 Response and Beyond
Providing a powerful platform to openly discuss how we, as a global community, can advance the role of women as leaders in health in conflict-affected settings is an undervalued opportunity. Honest, evidence-based discussions, holistic approaches, and increasing the visibility of women role models are imperative in settings that are debilitated by conflict and restrictive gender norms. When gender equity and equality are not prioritized, we tend …
Protracted armed conflict and maternal health
INTRODUCTION: Syria's protracted conflict has devastated the health system reversing progress made on maternal health preconflict. Our aim is to understand the state of maternal health in Syria focused on underage pregnancy and caesarean sections using a scoping review and quantitative analysis; the latter draws on data from the Syrian American Medical Society's (SAMS) maternal health facilities in northwest Syria. METHODS: We performed a scoping…
The health of internally displaced people in Syria
This manuscript presents some of the current issues with regards to IDP health in Syria, however, there remain numerous unknowns, both for the health of IDP as well as non-IDP populations. We hope that it will be the foundation for further discussions on practical steps relating to research, analysis and interventions which can support health system responses for IDPs in Syria
Factors associated with adverse outcomes among patients hospitalized at a Covid-19 treatment center in Herat, Afghanistan
Though many studies on COVID have been published to date, data on COVID-19 epidemiology, symptoms, risk factors and severity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICS), such as Afghanistan are sparse. To describe clinical characteristics, severity, and outcomes of patients hospitalized in the MSF COVID-19 treatment center (CTC) in Herat, Afghanistan and to assess risk factors associated with severe outcomes. 1113 patients were included in this o…
Policy versus practice
The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed interest in streamlining processes which allow refugee doctors and other healthcare workers to make up for the shortfall in healthcare delivery, which many countries are facing increasingly. The protracted conflict in Syria is the biggest driver of forced displacement internationally with refugees, including healthcare workers seeking safety in host countries, however many face challenges to entering the workforc…
Disruption to water supply and waterborne communicable diseases in northeast Syria
While no strong immediate correlation could be established between disruptions to WASH and WBDs in northeast Syria, further research is essential to explore the impact of conflict-associated damage to civil infrastructure including WASH. This is vital though challenging given confounding factors which affect both WASH and WBDs in contexts like northeast Syria. As such, research which includes exploration of mitigation after damage to WASH is esse…
The lived experience of patients with conflict associated injuries whose wounds are affected by antimicrobial resistant organisms
This is the first exploration through qualitative research of the experiences of those with conflict-affected wounds which are infected with AMR organisms in NWS. Emerging themes as told by participants can help stakeholders, including policy makers, humanitarian organisations and those involved with health system planning in NWS consider gaps in current and future care needs (including livelihood opportunities) for this vulnerable group
Actually, the psychological wounds are more difficult than physical injuries
Violence against healthcare in Syria has had profound and lasting impacts on the health workforce due to the relentless and intentional targeting of healthcare facilities. They not only face the challenges of providing care for a conflict-affected population but are also part of the community themselves. They also face ethical dilemmas in their work leading to moral distress and moral injury. Donors must support funding for psychosocial support f…
Quantifying the effects of attacks on health facilities on health service use in Northwest Syria
BACKGROUND: Throughout the Syrian conflict, the Syrian government has intentionally attacked health facilities, violating International Humanitarian Law. Previous studies have qualitatively described health system disruptions following attacks on healthcare or established associations between armed conflict and health service utilisation, but there are no quantitative studies exploring the effects of health facility attacks. Our unprecedented stu…
AI in conflict zones
O Objetivo deste trabalho e argumentar contra a ideia de que a violencia e alguma especie de irracionalidade, pois parte do principio de que existe uma racionalidade intrinseca a violencia. No curso de nossa exposicao, sera abordada sumariamente a evolucao das discussoes em torno do conceito de razao e da conexao entre racionalidade e violencia, como tambem o debate em torno da questao do “mal”, com o intuito de indicar como este se tornou o pont…
An analysis of humanitarian and health aid harmonisation over a decade (2011–2019) of the Syrian conflict
INTRODUCTION: Aid harmonisation is a key component of donor efforts to make aid more effective by improving coordination and simplifying and sharing information to avoid duplication. This study evaluates the harmonisation of health and humanitarian aid in Syria during acute humanitarian and health crises from 2011 to 2019. METHODS: Data on humanitarian and health aid for Syria between 2011 and 2019 was collected from the Organisation for Economic…
The cascading impacts of attacks on health in Syria
Syria has experienced over a decade of armed conflict, characterized by targeted violence against healthcare. The impacts of these attacks have resulted in both direct and indirect attacks on health and reverberating effects on local communities. This study aims to explore the perspectives of health workers based in northern Syria who have experienced such attacks on health to understand the impacts on the health system as well as communities ser…
Respiratory health and the Syrian conflict
Conflict adversely affects respiratory health in both direct and indirect ways among populations whose health is already compromised through the compounding effects of conflict. Our aim is to review academic and grey literature relevant to respiratory health in the Syrian conflict (now more than a decade in duration) to explore its impacts on populations across Syria. We performed a scoping literature review of academic and grey literature on res…
Exploring relationships between conflict intensity, forced displacement, and healthcare attacks
We find that healthcare facilities are not avoided during conflict (as obliged under IHL), and that healthcare attacks significantly precede an escalation of general conflict in the same area. Healthcare attacks are also significantly associated with displacement for months following the attacks, even when accounting for conflict levels. Based on these findings, we present a framework outlining one pathway through which healthcare attacks may con…
Accessing breast cancer care in a protracted conflict
Healthcare providers’ perspectives on antimicrobial resistance in Northwest Syria
Background: Armed conflict contributes to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Understanding healthcare providers' perceptions is essential for identifying key determinants and developing contextualised recommendations. This study explored perceptions of AMR among healthcare providers in northwest Syria - a conflict-affected area- before the fall of the Syrian regime in December 2024. Methods: A qualitative study was cond…
Refugees and asylum seekers in Europe need a rights-based approach to the issue of return
BOX European asylum policies have become increasingly restrictive, raising concerns about the protection of refugee rights, including access to healthcare and adherence to the principle of non-refoulement
Mpox exposes fundamental obstacles for vaccinating children in outbreaks
box Children could not be included in mpox vaccination roll-out within the first 100 days of the latest Mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and are yet to be rolled out in many countries with rising cases, despite this age group accounting for a large proportion of suspected cases and deaths
Medicine (24 works) · Health and Conflict Studies (19 works) · Political science (17 works) · Health care (15 works) · Migration, Health and Trauma (13 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Environmental health (11 works) · Law (11 works) · Public health (10 works) · Nursing (9 works)