Iraqi health system in kurdistan region

Medical professionals' perspectives on challenges and priorities for improvement

Bibliographic Data

ID15554573
AuthorsNazar P Shabila (0000-0002-8921-195X, Hawler Medical University, corresponding author), Namir Al-Tawil (0000-0002-5143-0057, Hawler Medical University), Rebaz Tahir, Falah H Shwani (0000-0002-4271-3178), Abubakir M Saleh (0000-0002-4959-9427, Hawler Medical University), Tariq S Al-Hadithi (0000-0002-7939-5871, Hawler Medical University)
Year2010
Volume4
Issue1
Publication date2010-11-30
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueConflict and Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1752-1505 • E-ISSN: 1752-1505
PublisherBioMed Central (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1186/1752-1505-4-19
PMID21118537
PMCIDPMC3003630
OpenAlexW2121789947
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited5

The views of medical professionals on efficiency of health system and needs for any changes are very critical and constitute a cornerstone for any health system improvement. This is particularly relevant to Iraqi Kurdistan case as the events of the last few decades have significantly devastated the national Iraqi health system while the necessity for adopting a new health care system is increasingly recognized since 2004. This study aims to examine the regional health system in Iraqi Kurdistan from medical professionals' perspectives and try to define its problems and priorities for improvement. A survey questionnaire was developed and administered to a convenience sample of 250 medical professionals in Erbil governorate. The questionnaire included four items; rating of the quality of services and availability of resources in the health institutions, view on different aspects of the health system, the perceived priority needs for health system improvement and gender and professional characteristics of the respondents. The response rate to the survey was 83.6%. A high proportion of respondents rated the different aspects of services and resources in the health institutions as weak or very weak including the availability of the required quantity and quality of medicines (68.7%), the availability of sufficient medical equipment and investigation tools (68.7%), and the quality of offered services (65.3%). Around 72% of respondents had a rather negative view on the overall health system. The weak role of medical research, the weak role of professional associations in controlling the system and the inefficient health education were identified as important problems in the current health system (87.9%, 87.1% and 84.9%, respectively). The priority needs of health system improvement included adoption of social insurance for medical care of the poor (82%), enhancing the role of family medicine (77.2%), adopting health insurance system (76.1%) and periodic scientific evaluation of physicians and other health staff (69.8%). Medical professionals were generally unsatisfied with the different aspects of the health system in Iraqi Kurdistan region. A number of problems and different priority needs for health system improvement have been recognized that require to be studied in more details

Business · Cornerstone · Environmental health · Geography · Health care · Health professionals · Health services · Healthcare system · Medical education · Political science · Quality (philosophy · Questionnaire · Healthcare Policy and Management · Healthcare Systems and Reforms · Medicine · Nursing · Primary Care and Health Outcomes

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access