Background: Internally displaced people in Iraq are still suffering because the solutions were not radical. This study aims to assess the impact of displacement on the socio-economic, well-being and mental health status of internally displaced families in Anbar province, Iraq. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from 3rd to 17th April 2017. Data was collected using a universal sampling technique. A total of 355 households interviewed with a modified questionnaire consisting of 26 close-ended questions related to the socio-economic, demographic, wellbeing and the mental health characteristics. Results: At the time of the study, about 55.5% of the surveyed displaced families have not returned home yet. Big families of more than seven members (59.4%) and residency in renting houses (82.8%) are two variables that may contribute to an economic burden. Mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety spread among 62.3% of surveyed families. Significant rise in chronic diseases from 64 (18.0%) cases before displacement to 102 cases (28.7%) after displacement. Few of them (21.6%) were able to access public health services. People who experienced violence are verbally abused at 52.1%. Lack of the services (50.3%), the inability to repair the destroyed houses (26.4%) and the loss of house due to complete destruction (23.3%) were the significant factors inhibited families to return home back. Conclusion: Our findings indicate the need for urgent and strategic plans to improve the quality of logistics, health and infrastructure services to motivate the displaced families to return back to their homes.

Background: Iraq was among the first countries invaded by the novel human coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) after China. This study aimed to assess the Iraqi people's knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19 during the pandemic.  Methods: A cross-sectional study recruiting an online self-reported survey conducted from 17-31 July 2020. Data of 877 participants have undergone descriptive, univariate, and multivariable regression analyses, respectively, to assess the differences in mean scores and identify factors associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19. Results: Most of the respondents (78.8%) from the urban region, highly educated (69.7%), aged less than 45 years (61.2%), females (58.3%), married (51.9%), and 74.0% self-ranked health as good. Less than half (45.4%) were employed; however, the average monthly income was USD 400 or more in about 66.8% of them. The mean knowledge, attitude and practice score was 15.57 ± 2.46 (range: 0-20), 38.88 (SD = 3.57, (range: 11-55), and 5.13 (SD = 1.14, range: 0–6), respectively. Findings of regression analysis showed that higher educated (p< 0.001), urban residents (P <0.001), employed (P =0.040), and having an income level of USD 400 or more (P <0.001) were significantly associated with upper knowledge score. Female gender and employed respondents are significantly associated with positive attitude scores, but inversely respondents with an income of USD 400 or more are significantly associated with a negative attitude. Regarding practice score, the female gender and those living in an urban region had better practice, but the young age group (0-44 years) was significantly associated with the weak practice. Conclusion: Although Iraq has adopted a preventive and precautionary plan to control the spread of coronavirus. However, the public's knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19, coupled with the unstable political and security situation, have greatly affected the commitment to preventive measures.

Background: The understanding of what mothers think about breastfeeding helps in developing successful breastfeeding promotion programs. This study aims to assess the maternal knowledge, attitude, and practice about the complementary feeding for infants aged 6-12 months. Methods: A cross-sectional study designed to interview 219 mothers with children between 6-12 months. Data was collected between 1st March and 30th April 2019 from ten maternal and child health clinics (MCHCs) in Anbar Province, Iraq. SPSS version 16.0 was recruited to analyze the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as Chi-square used to present data with the significance level set at less than 0.05. Results:  The mean age of respondents was 27.76 ± 6.3 years, and 31% were at the primary school level. Two third (66.82%) of the surveyed mothers exclusively used breastfeeding to feed their infants. Most women (84.09%) have the correct knowledge about the best time to start complementary food. The vast majority of women (93.64%) refused to give vitamins to children even with signs of malnutrition. Conclusion: Although exclusive breastfeeding is common among mothers of the western region in Iraq, there is still a considerable percentage depend on the mixture of breastfeeding and bottle feeding. The positive impact of the family and society on mothers was evident. However, more attention should be given to improve knowledge, attitude, and practice through qualified healthcare providers.

Improved knowledge among women about maternal risk factors significantly reduced the likelihood of adverse events in pregnancy and childbirth. This study aimed to explore Iraqi women's knowledge and attitudes about maternal risk factors in pregnancy. A multicenter cross-sectional survey was conducted from 01 January to 31 March 2019 among women of the reproductive age (15-49 years). A convenient sampling technique using a semi-structured questionnaire was recruited to interview the sample. SPSS version 16.0 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square test) were used to present data with the significance level considered at <0.05. Data of 250 women underwent final analysis. The mean age of respondents was 27.76 (±6.3 years). Most of the respondents (79.9%) correctly knew the maternal risk factors in pregnancy. A large percentage of women knew that poor nutrition, anemia (95.6%), smoking and passive smoke (95.6%), and obesity (85.2%) during pregnancy are risk factors affecting the fetus’ health. However, about 40.0% of women thought there was no harm during pregnancy, and therefore there was no need for medical check-ups regularly. In bivariate analysis, there was a significant association between knowledge and level of education. The higher the level of education, the greater the women's knowledge about risk factors such as malnutrition and anemia (P=<0.001), obesity (P=0.04), diabetes (P=0.002), repeated urinary tract infection (P=0.017), Rh incompatibility (<0.001), history of previous cesarean section (P=0.010), smoking and passive smoking (P=0.014) and evidence of bleeding (P=0.001). In conclusion, Iraqi pregnant women demonstrated a good level of knowledge about the risk factors during the pregnancy.

Background: Several factors in the family profile contribute significantly to determining the effective policy when heading the family. This study aims to evaluate the sociodemographic and economic burdens on parents-headed families in Ramadi City, west of Iraq. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional household-based survey was conducted from 1st to 28th February 2019 among Iraqi people residents in Ramadi city, Anbar province. A multistage sampling technique was recruited to identify the eligible sample. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview (face-to-face) the respondents. Data from 267 households have undergone univariate and bivariate analyses. Multiple logistic regression, odds ratio (OR), and confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to explore the predicting variables. The statistically significant is considered at less than 0.05. Results: The mean age of respondents was 43.88 (± 12.1) years (range: 25 to 69 years). Out of the total surveyed people, 52.8% were young (less than 44 years), male-headed families (59.6%), low educated level (65.5%), unemployed (52.4%), married (67.4%) and headed big families of seven members and above (43.1%). History of chronic diseases and smoking habits was positive among 46.4% and 45.7% of respondents, respectively. Findings of the binary logistic regressions showed that history of smoking (OR = 7.201, 95% CI: 3.254 to15.936), families of 7 members and above (OR = 6.239, 95% CI: 2.938 to 13.250), unhappy (OR = 5.237, 95% CI: 2.140 to 12.818), aged 44 years and above (OR = 3.518, 95% CI: 1.581 to 7.829), being single (unmarried, divorced, widow) (OR = 2.697, 95% CI: 1.230 to 5.914), and had a monthly income of less than USD400 (OR = 2.333, 95% CI: 1.112 to 4.859) are significantly associated with female-headed family. Conclusion: Priority must be given to some elements such as genetic, physical differences, biopsychosocial factors, and the economic situation when discussing parents' behavior in heading the family.