It feels like yesterday that we wrote the editorial related to the previous issue of the Qatar Health 2020 Conference!. 2020 is clearly a year to remember globally as a challenging one and this probably contributed to time passing so rapidly, keeping everyone so busy caring for patients and conducting research. COVID-19 has had a big impact on all aspects of our lives, from the way we deliver patient care and work, to how we socialize and plan for the future in general. The past year has certainly provided an opportunity for the State of Qatar to demonstrate its resilience, its ability to rapidly adapt to new circumstances, and to find effective solutions to new problems. Although very concerned by the current pandemic, our focus needs to also concentrate on the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in 2022 and every possible health related aspects, to ensure the event is safely hosted for everyone’s enjoyment. This has been clearly reflected in the Qatar Health 2021 conference program and call for abstracts () which was organized into four parallel tracks fully hosted online for everyone’s safety. This issue of the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care contains an extensive selection of 38 out of the 94 abstracts that have been accepted for oral or poster presentation during the conference. The abstract themes are summarized in and range from the impact of the pandemic on delivering primary care to Qatar’s preparedness to dealing with hazardous and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents. Notably 48 (51.06%) of the abstract titles contained the word COVID-19 or pandemic while only 4 abstracts (4.25%) were related to mass gatherings and sporting events. The later topics were primarily covered by multiple invited speakers with the relevant experience and proved to be the most attended conference sessions. It is worth noticing that the event attracted just over of 5,400 delegates and speakers from a total of 40 countries and has received highly positive feedback. We look forward to welcoming everyone again next year as we come closer to the FIFA World Cup 2022, with many more topics, partner organizations, and attendees.
Background: Family consent and organ donors rates are colinear to each other. The low consent rate can be influenced by socioeconomic and behavioral factors in the population. This study aimed to assess the influence of sociodemographic and behavioral factors on family consent for organ donation in the household population.Subjects dan Method: This is a secondary data analysis of the cross-sectional research design of 1044 household participants conducted in Qatar on organ donation between October and November 2016. A two-stage systematic random sampling was applied to collect data. The dependent variable was family consent. The independent variables were demographic and behavioral factors such as knowledge, attitude, intention, and beliefs about organ donation. Data were collected using household survey Questionnaire and analyzed using Student t-tests (unpaired), chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression analysis. C-statistics were applied to see discriminate accuracy of the developed regression model for family consent.Results: Knowledge (aOR= 1.63; 95%CI= 0.55 to 4.80; p= 0.380), behavioral belief (aOR= 1.11; 95%CI= 0.77 to 1.61; p= 0.580), heard organ donation (aOR= 1.12; 95%CI= 0.71 to 1.76; p= 0.630), registered for organ donation (aOR= 1.11; 95%CI= 0.50 to 2.46; p= 0.800), donated any organ/ blood/tissue (aOR= 1.63; 95%CI= 0.55 to 4.80; p= 0.380) can increased with family consent for organ donation registration. But, it’s not significantly statistic. Attitude (aOR= 1.73; 95%CI= 1.28 to 2.34; p= 0.001), control belief (aOR= 0.74; 95%CI= 0.55 to 0.99; p= 0.050), and Intention (aOR= 7.50; 95%CI= 4.04 to 13.92; p= 0.001) can increased with family consent for organ donation registration and the results were statistically significant.Conclusion: Attitude, control belief, and intention can increase family consent for organ donation registration. Keywords: Family consent, intention, attitude, knowledge, organ donation. Correspondence:Rajvir Singh. Cardiology Research Center, Heart Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha, Qatar, Post Box: 3050; email: rajvir.aiims@gmail.com. Mobile: 97455897044.
Mortality for young children in motor vehicle crashes in Qatar was highest in those who were unrestrained1. Anecdotal reports have attributed low car seat use to their expense and unavailability prompting car seat giveaway programs, but an assessment of the local car seat market has not been conducted previously. This study will report the results of a rapid market survey (RMS) to understand the availability, characteristics and the cost of child restraints and make recommendations for future child restraint policies and legislation in Qatar. This RMS was conducted as part of the Young Kids in Safe Seats Project funded by the Qatar Foundation. The survey involved locating all retail outlets that sell child restraints in Qatar and collecting standard data on each restraint system: brand, model no. age/weight limits, compliance with standards, availability and language of owner's manual. The RMS showed a sufficient number and variety of car seat models [83] available at 19 retail outlets with a wide affordability range [$46 - $810]. All of the car seats complied with the European standard. Only 2% showed a date of manufacture or expiry. A user manual was available in only 71% of seats and in a variety of different languages, but only 36% in the native language of Arabic. This RMS demonstrates the availability and variety of child restraint systems in Qatar. Unavailability and expense cannot be cited as barriers to their use and the market is prepared for legislation requiring car seats for children in Qatar. Areas for improvement include: requiring user manuals for all seats, especially in Arabic, that all car seats comply with globally accepted safety standards, especially expiry/manufacturing dates, given the harsh local climate, and encouraging more variety in the local markets. References: Consunji RJ, Peralta R, Al-Thani H and Latifi R. A focused approach to the road safety of young children in Qatar. Oral Presentation. 2nd Annual Child Health Research Day. Sick Kids International/Hamad Medical Corporation Partnership. 28 January 2012. Doha, Qatar.
Workplace-related injuries carry a significant health care challenge. The state of Qatar is developing rapidly, with much construction and an expanding industrial work force. This study aimed to assess the incidence and social impact of work-related injuries requiring hospitalization caused by falling objects at the construction sites.We performed a prospective study for all admissions, which resulted from falling objects between January 2008 and June 2010 at the only trauma center in the state of Qatar. Data were analyzed, and outcomes were described (mortality, length of hospital stay, and safety measures).Of the total injured patients (N = 4,302) admitted between January 2008 and June 2010, 185 (4%) had injuries caused purely by falling objects. Patients' mean age was 29 years, and 97% of the patients were men. All injuries occurred at construction sites. Most patients (86%) were brought by ambulance, and the reminder was brought by private vehicles. After initial evaluation and resuscitation, 120 patients (65%) were found to have a single-system injury, and 65 (35%) had multisystem injury. Operative interventions were required in 50% of the patients. Mean length of hospital stay varied from 6.5 days for single-system injuries to 19 days for multisystem injuries. Safety devices were used in 32 patients (17.3%). All of the 16 mortality cases (8.6%) were reported in multiple injuries.Traumatic injury caused by falling object represents a significant problem in a rapidly developing country. Many of these injuries could be prevented by following established safety guidelines.Epidemiologic study, level III.
Introduction: Motor vehicle crashes have been identified as one of the leading causes of death, injury and disability among young children, less than 5 years, in Qatar. Child passenger restraint systems [CRS] are one of the most effective means to reduce these in child passengers. Previous studies on the effectiveness of a child restraint have shown that if child occupants are properly restrained, the fatality risk is reduced by 28% and serious injury by 82% (1). The objective of this survey is to examine knowledge, attitudes and usage of CRS in a sample of parents with young children in Doha, Qatar. It was conducted as part of a larger ‘Young Kids in Safe Seats (Y-KISS)’ grant [NPRP 7-1681-3-429] funded by the Qatar Foundation designed to measure current CRS knowledge, attitudes and practices and test two potential interventions to improve their use in Qatar. It has been predicted that by the year 2020, RTIs will be the third major cause of disability and hence is an alarming public health problem currently prevailing (2). Methods: A custom designed survey, containing 25 questions that tested CRS knowledge, attitudes and practice of participants, was applied by trained health communicators in 3 Well Baby Clinics of the Primary Health Care Corporation [PHCC]. All participants at least had one child between the ages of 0-5.The survey was conducted in self-administered electronic tabs and was made available in four languages as per the convenience of the participant. Results: The survey collected information from 602 parents, of children under 5 years consulting at well-baby clinics, on: method of child transport, use of CRS, knowledge of CRS, and demographic characteristics. The sample size included 30% Qatari population and 70% expatriates. Almost 50% parents who participated had a Bachelor's degree. The results showed that only 43% used a CRS for their children and only 53% had a car seat.. The most common reasons for not using a safety seat included children crying when in CRS (56%) and a preference to hold the child (18.1%).Only 23% parents had correct knowledge of the appropriate age and weight limits of transitioning car seats as the child grows. Only 38% were aware of the benefits of using a car seat. Moreover, nearly all [94%] reported never witnessing enforcement of child passenger laws prohibiting children from riding in the front, concomitantly only 9% stated that a law requiring CRS use would make them use one for their children Conclusion: Less than half of young children, in this study population, were benefitting from safety provided by CRS. There is a need to develop awareness programs that educate caregivers on the benefits and proper use of CRS. Other priority areas for intervention include the consistent enforcement of laws banning children in the front seat and extending current passenger restraint laws to include all vehicle passengers. References: 1. Keay L, Brown J, Hunter K, Ivers R. Adopting child restraint laws to address child passenger injuries: Experience from high income countries and new initiatives in low and middle income countries. Injury. 2015;46(6):933–4. 2. Bener A, Hussain SJ, Ghaffar A, Abou-Taleb H, El-Sayed HF. Trends in childhood trauma mortality in the fast economically developing State of Qatar. World J Pediatr WJP. 2011 Feb;7(1):41–4.
The practice of emergency medicine has reached its cross roads. Emergency physicians (EPs) are managing many more time-dependent conditions, initiating complex treatments in the emergency department (ED), handling ethical and end of life care discussions upfront, and even performing procedures which used to be done only in critical care settings, in the resuscitation room. EPs manage a wide spectrum of patients, 24 h a day, which reflects the community and society they practice in. Besides the medical and “technical” issues to handle, they have to learn how to resolve confounding elements which their patients can present with. These may include social, financial, cultural, ethical, relationship, and even employment matters. EPs cannot overlook these, in order to provide holistic care. More and more emphasis is also now given to the social determinants of health. We, from the emergency medicine fraternity, are proposing a unique “BRAVE model,” as a mnemonic to assist in the provision of point of care, adaptive leadership at the bedside in the ED. This represents another useful tool for use in the current climate of the ED, where patients have higher expectations, need more patient-centric resolution and handling of their issues, looming against the background of a more complex society and world.
Welcome to this special issue of the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care (JEMTAC) dedicated primarily to Qatar Health 2020 Conference and presenting a selection of abstracts on various topics in response to a late call for free paper oral or poster presentation submissions (Table 1). Qatar Health 2020 was a collaborative event between Hamad Medical Corporation and the Qatar Ministry of Public Health, chaired by Dr. Abdul Wahab Al Musleh and organized as a multidisciplinary academic meeting open to healthcare professionals and experts from different backgrounds and countries. The theme of the congress was “Mass gatherings Healthcare Services: Emergency and Disaster Management” in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and also concentrates on presenting best practices and evidence of a trauma system approach to mass casualty events. Hosting one of the most popular sporting events in the world is a significant undertaking that requires a lot of preparation at a national level to ensure the well-being of athletes, supporters, and various professional groups and volunteers supporting such activity, whilst also still providing the required services to the rest of the population. Mass gathering medicine is defined as “the public health challenges to hosting events attended by a large enough number of people, at a specific site, for a defined period of time, likely to strain both the planning and response to the mass gathering of a community, state, or nation.”1 Whether it is in relation to the potential spread of infectious diseases, terrorist attacks, or accidents, medical preparedness and emergency response are key2,3. The range of submissions received for Qatar Health 2020 in connection with the known and potential impact of mass gatherings in terms of healthcare response is a testimony of the importance of good preparation which involves a significant ramp up in healthcare manpower and physical resources, public health campaigns, interagency collaboration, considerations for the environmental and cultural context, and exercises to test and rehearse plans (Table 2). This special issue also includes two abstracts from the first Qatar Trauma Nurse Symposium which took place at the end of 2019 and was jointly organized by the Trauma Nursing Department and the Nursing and Midwifery Education and Research Department of Hamad Medical Corporation under the leadership of Ms. Asmaa Mosa Al-Atey. Finally, we would like to close this editorial by wishing success to the resurging JEMTAC journal and congratulating all participants that made Qatar Health 2020 Conference and the Qatar Trauma Nurse Symposium such successful events. We look forward to featuring the work presented at future events held in Qatar as well as full articles directly submitted to the journal for Open Access publication. The Editorial Board will endeavor within the next couple of years to make it a regular publication with good quality and informative contents for everyone interested in emergency medicine, trauma, acute and pre-hospital care.
