khi blog

Philosophy for Docs

2010-04-08T14:39:09Z

I think that medical education should encompass more humanities modules, especially ones that cover subjects such as philosophy, which encourage critical thinking (more on this subject in KHI's medical education section, under strategic initiatives). Mohammad Hassan, a medical student from the University of Liverpool has written an article, which uses medical examples to explain logical fallacies. I thought it was a really good article so I reposted it below...

Primary Health Care - Overcoming Inequities

2008-10-15T14:14:16Z

Yesterday, the World Health Organization issued its annual World Health Report which, on the 30th anniversary of the Alma-Ata Declaration, once again renews its vows to the critical issue of primary health care. Indeed, after decades of sailing adrift and billions spent on seemingly promising vertical programs, the foundations of health systems have slowly but surely dismantled or witnessed varying degrees of neglect. Please read this very important document as it highlights a topic crucial to the wellbeing of our nation and region at a time when we are being devastated by chronic diseases.

Health For All Revisited - Part 1

2008-07-12T20:47:05Z

A right approach to health sector reform. In a disorganized and exceedingly bureaucratic health system, it is tempting for the ill-informed policymaker to engage in the "band-aid" approach to achieve quick fixes that appease both the public and legislators in times of crisis. We have discussed numerous examples of this in the past. Furthermore, providers, who have been reluctant to engage in significant attempts to reform the system, except when dealing with matters of remuneration, remain disconnected from the policy-making arena. Indeed, in an environment lacking exposure to even basic education in principles of public policy, management, and economics related to health, understanding the sector as a whole, beyond ones restricted clinical domain, remains a daunting endeavor. For this reason, we will expose a series of articles addressing key concepts in health sector reform using the framework adopted by experts representing institutions such as Harvard University, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank, among others.

Losing Perspective

2008-06-25T21:41:07Z

Kuwait and the neighboring GCC countries have unique social structures. Despite high growth rates, there seems to be an unrelenting need to import skilled manpower and foreign expertise. Expatriates constitute about 80% of the labor force and form an estimated 65% of the population. This tells you that the majority of expatriates are in the working age group, while Kuwaitis are distributed more evenly across the age spectrum.

86 Restaurants in 16 km

2008-02-25T15:20:05Z

The World Health Organization lists Kuwait as the 8th fattest country in the world with a 74.2% prevalence of overweight individuals, behind Nauru (94.5%), Federated States of Micronesia (91.1%), Cook Islands (90.9%), Tonga (90.8%), Niue (81.7%), Samoa (80.4%) and Palau (78.4%). This small group of Pacific Island countries has a genetic propensity for larger muscular physiques, and abdominal fatness has long been considered a symbol of wealth and prosperity for Pacific Islanders. Second to this cluster of small Pacific Islands is Kuwait. We are heavier than the Americans and report the highest rate of obesity of all Gulf Arab countries. We have the highest prevalence of hypertension and elevated cholesterol levels in all the Gulf region and we rank 5th for the global prevalence of diabetes behind Nauru, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Small-scale national studies report that only 2 - 5% of our population is physically active despite the fact that International Diabetes Federation tells us that up to 80% of type 2 diabetes is preventable by adopting a healthy diet and increasing physical activity.

BIOpsy: Educational opportunities @ Cyprus International Institute

2008-02-07T01:59:44Z

The Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public Health, in association with the Harvard School of Public Health, is announcing the following educational programs and scholarships:

"We have a world class 1 year Masters Program in Environmental Health which is taught by faculty from Harvard and other prestigious scholars from around the globe. We are offering a number of scholarships for this program and are hoping you can help us by spreading the word to any interested students. The deadline to apply for Academic Year 08-09 is March 1st. There is no application fee and tuition for the year is 7500 Euros.

We also are offering the following two upcoming Continuing Professional Education Courses (you can locate the flyers of the events on our website under the Calendar section):

Treating Nicotine Addiction: What you can do to help your patients quit smoking. This 2 day training course will be taught by Drs. Greg Connolly, Dr Robert West, Dr Taru Kinnunen, and Dr Georges Saade. April 7 - 8, 2008 in Nicosia Cyprus. The course is modestly priced at 300 Euros and a number of scholarships will be offered. The registration deadline is March 20, 2008 and seats are limited. Nutrition, Obesity & Diabetes. This 3-day training course will be taught by world renowned faculty to include Harvard University's Dr. Ed Horton, Dr. Frank Hu, Dr. David Nathan, and Dr. Walter Willet and University of Athens Dr Dimitrios Linos. This 3-day training course will take place in Limassol Cyprus on May 12 - 14, 2008 and the course is modestly priced at 500 Euros. A number of scholarships will be offered and primary consideration will be given to physicians and health care workers working in public hospitals in the government sector of their respective countries. The registration deadline is April 15, 2008 and seats are limited." For more information please visit www.hsph.harvard.edu/cyprus

Vain Souls with White Wings

2008-01-23T07:30:11Z

Prejudice subdued, different ethnic groups have managed to manifest certain socio-behavioral traits, some of which are good, and other ones not particularly flattering. And although every unique individual harbors within his soul the opposite of all characters and traits, some of those traits may manage to surface as a general trait for a particular ethnic, genetic, cultural or geographic population. That character or trait may not necessarily be present in every individual unit in that cultural pool, yet it may seem to be present up to a threshold of abundance, at which point it becomes a detectable trait in more people of that population, qualifying it to be a trend character for population X. Let those trends be physical, behavioral or otherwise. Good, bad, or neither.

Tunnel vision

2007-11-20T01:52:08Z

In 2001, a Pakistani woman was publicly gang-raped and later forced to walk the streets of her village unclothed, exposed to the rest of the villagers. This atrocity was perpetrated by individuals who claim to be faithful Muslims and who begin their sermons with the mention of God and the prophet Mohammad, PBUH. The first question that jumped to mind was how a group of people could approve of such a horrendous crime. You would assume that your social network would guide you back in track when deviating from a righteous path. However, the reality is that it is easier to commit an immoral act collectively where the responsibility is diluted in the masses and the appearance of diminished individual accountability often prevails.

Priority Check

2007-08-23T10:03:22Z

Budget allocated to the improvement of Kuwait's health services (2007): USD 181 million (KWD 51 million) Kuwait's contribution to the Katrina disaster: USD 500 million (KWD 141 million) Go figure.

The Health of Kuwait – Awake Yet?

2007-07-13T16:04:57Z

Certain generalizations can be made from the analysis of our system. There seems to be a trend towards an ultraconservative approach to decision-making. Risk taking is discouraged and our policy-makers have adopted the “band-aid” technique to solve conflicts whereby essential rights are consistently being withdrawn when complaints are filed by both laypeople and uninformed politicians instead of engaging in educational campaigns. Dramatic examples include the withdrawal of the rights of emergency physicians to order important diagnostic tests such as CT scans or ultrasounds due to some past excesses and to unwarranted resistance exhibited by our more established radiologists. Paramedics, who in other nations perform life-saving procedures and provide critical medications, have seen their responsibilities downgraded following complaints by family members of transported patients. More recently, a new computer system introduced to a major teaching hospital to facilitate patient care was rapidly dismantled after components were stolen. This habit of bypassing core problems and placing a band-aid on a hemorrhaging wound is an example of passivism and poor judgment from the part of our leadership. The outcome is a system in failure due to repeated mistakes resulting from the lack of awareness.