Unique situation of Gaza Strip dealing with COVID-19 crisis

Abuhabib, A. A.; Abu-Aita, Said N.; Procter, Caitlin; Al-Smeri, Ibtesam

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2020.08.070

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Around 178452 people had been infected with COVID-19 by the middle of October 2021. The first two coronavirus-positive cases in Gaza were discovered in late March 2020, at the border of the Gaza Strip with Egypt 7 . In August 2020, the first communal case was reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gaza Midwives’ Lived Experience of Providing Maternity Care During COVID-19

Baloushah¹,

Abu-Hamad²,

Mohammadi³

et al. 2022

Eur J Midwifery

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INTRODUCTION The Gaza Strip is densely populated. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on global healthcare systems, and midwifery practices have transformed in maternity care settings. Our research aimed at understanding the Palestinian midwives’ experiences in providing maternity care in Gaza during the COVID-19 pandemic at Gaza European Hospital which was the only hospital providing care for people diagnosed with COVID-19. METHODS To understand the phenomenon of interest, descriptive phenomenology was used. A purposive sample of eight midwives from the European Gaza Hospital was chosen. Between December 2020 and January 2021, semi-structured interviews were used in the data collection procedure. The collected data were analyzed using the Colaizzi approach. RESULTS The investigation resulted in three main themes: emotionally overwhelmed, work environment challenges, and interpersonal relationship development. CONCLUSIONS Midwives shared both positive and negative experiences from their time working in the European Gaza Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were confronted with negative emotions such as fear, stress, and anxiety, as well as environmental challenges. Despite this, they created a new interpersonal bond that was positively reflected. To sustain their psychological well-being, COVID-19 care workers require psychological support at work. A strong need exists for equipping the Maternity Department with the essential equipment and supplies to reduce the working environment load, as well as giving the necessary training to staff to be qualified enough to provide such crucial care.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gaza Midwives’ Lived Experience of Providing Maternity Care During COVID-19

Baloushah¹,

Abu-Hamad²,

Mohammadi³

et al. 2022

Eur J Midwifery

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“…Starting the early months of the response, additional screenings were conducted daily to prevent transmission of the virus into the hospital. Nevertheless, the hospital had no control over the incoming patients from other hospitals mainly from the Gaza Strip, where it is difficult to perform routine PCR testing (1,11).…”

Section: Challenges Facility Level: Continuous Care For Immunocomprom...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Proactive Innovation in a Prolonged Conflict Setting: Facing COVID-19 in a Specialized Cancer Hospital in Palestine

Sabateen

Khalil

Hawa

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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The prolonged ongoing conflict in Palestine exacerbated socioeconomic conditions and weakened the health system, complicating the management of COVID-19 pandemic, especially for cancer patients who are doubly-at risk. Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) is Palestine's only specialized cancer hospital, receiving patients from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank for oncology, nephrology, hematology, and radiotherapy. AVH's preparedness measures enabled its agile response. These proactive and innovative preparedness measures included: implementing a facility-level preparedness and response plan; utilizing multidisciplinary team-based and evidence-informed approaches to decision making; prioritizing health workers' safety and education; establishing in-house PCR testing to scale up timely screenings; and accommodating health workers, patients, and their relatives at hospital hotels, to maintain daily, continuous and critical health care for cancer patients and limit the spread of infection. At the facility-level, the biggest challenge faced by AVH was continuing essential and daily care for immunocompromised patients while protecting them from potential infection from relatives, hospital staff and other suspected patients. At the national level, the lack of preparedness, inequalities in vaccine distribution, political instability, violence, delays in obtaining medical exit permits to reach Jerusalem, weakened AVH's response. AVH's flexible financing, hospital accreditation, and strong leadership and coordination enabled its agility and resilience. Despite compiling challenges, the hospital's proactive and innovative interventions minimized the risk of infection among two high-risk groups: the immunocompromised patients and their health workers, providing invaluable lessons for health facilities in other fragile-and-conflict-affected settings.

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“…Currently, reports suggest that emergency departments in Gaza are unable to handle the strain caused by the conflict; it is an 'acute-on-chronic' issue due to the already-existing barriers in provision of trauma healthcare like shortage of medicines, oxygen, and available beds (especially intensive care units). 5,6,16 A report in March 2020 revealed that Gaza had only 70 ICU beds for its entire population, 17 revealing how the facilities are 'overstretched' even on peaceful days.…”

Section: Medical Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dilemma of treating the infected versus the wounded: Gaza's healthcare system is choked

Aamir

Awan

Diwan

et al. 2021

Health Planning & Management

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Gaza has been facing persistent disturbance since the last 14 years. Even before the pandemic, Gaza faced a dire healthcare consequence with prevalent instability, lack of adequate medical resources, and limited health‐related infrastructure. Gaza continued to struggle while responding to the pandemic as the other nearby countries. However, the challenges were compounded with the onset of the conflict that affected Gaza's infrastructure and displaced tens of thousands to make‐shift shelters. The testing capacity of Gaza is alarmingly low that makes any outbreak difficult to document. Additionally, all medical centres have been affected by the ongoing conflict. These centres, if not directly impacted, are severely overwhelmed with those injured during the conflict, shifting focus and resources away from coronavirus. Vaccinations in Gaza cover only 1.9% of the population and a great number of unvaccinated people now may act as vectors of transmission in overcrowded shelters. Furthermore, non‐availability of clean water to maintain hygienic conditions has heightened the risk of an explosive surge in cases. Hence, beyond the ceasefire, further steps need to be taken to strengthen Gazan response to COVID‐19 pandemic.

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Unique situation of Gaza Strip dealing with COVID-19 crisis

Cited by 10 publications

References 5 publications

Gaza Midwives’ Lived Experience of Providing Maternity Care During COVID-19

Gaza Midwives’ Lived Experience of Providing Maternity Care During COVID-19

Proactive Innovation in a Prolonged Conflict Setting: Facing COVID-19 in a Specialized Cancer Hospital in Palestine

The dilemma of treating the infected versus the wounded: Gaza's healthcare system is choked

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