Al-Kuwari Mohamed Ghaith, Al-Abdulla Samya Ahmad, Abdulla Maha Yousef, Haj Bakri Ahmad, Mustafa Mohammed Azza, Chettiyam Kandy Mujeeb, Patterson Amanda, Illiayaraja Krishnan Jeyaram
Directorate of Strategy Planning and Health Intelligence, Primary Health Care Corporation, Doha, Qatar. E-mail:
Directorate of Operations, Primary Health Care Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Qatar Med J. 2021 Oct 25;2021(3):57. doi: 10.5339/qmj.2021.57. eCollection 2021.
In the public sector in Qatar, the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) is the major provider of primary healthcare services to families. Therefore, the PHCC conducted the first epidemiological health assessment to understand the burden of diseases and their subsequent risk factors impacting its registered population, to design better services, implement it and allocate resources to respond to the population health needs.
A cross-sectional study design was adopted among all PHCC registered populations between September 1, 2018, and August 31, 2019. The study target population was all persons residing in Qatar aged 0+ years and registered at the 27 health centers affiliated with the PHCC; excluding patients with an expired residence permit on August 31, 2019, and craft male workers were provided their primary healthcare services at the Qatar Red Crescent health facilities. The data were extracted from patients' electronic medical records (EMR).
The burden of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were the highest among the population of the central region at 13.9%, 15.7%, and 11.1%, respectively. Tobacco consumption among males was higher than females and ranged from 25.4% to 27.8%, with the highest rate in the northern region. Obesity rates ranged between 34.7% and 37.0% among the total population registered with the lowest rate in the central region, while 39.9% of females in the northern region had a body mass index above 30 kg/m. Exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months was significantly lower than that at 4 months across all regions. Children in the northern region had the highest rate of overweight/obesity based on Z-scores. The western region population had the highest number of communicable diseases notifications.
Understanding the patterns of disease in the local population will enable the PHCC to plan a clear set of services that meet the population's health needs, which include tailored health education and promotion components.
在卡塔尔公共部门，初级卫生保健公司（PHCC）是为家庭提供初级卫生保健服务的主要机构。因此，PHCC开展了首次流行病学健康评估，以了解疾病负担及其对其注册人口产生影响的后续风险因素，从而设计更好的服务、加以实施并分配资源以满足人口健康需求。
在2018年9月1日至2019年8月31日期间，对PHCC所有注册人口采用横断面研究设计。研究目标人群为所有居住在卡塔尔且年龄在0岁及以上、在隶属于PHCC的27家健康中心注册的人员；不包括2019年8月31日居留许可过期的患者，以及在卡塔尔红新月会卫生设施接受初级卫生保健服务的手工艺男性工人。数据从患者的电子病历（EMR）中提取。
中部地区人群中2型糖尿病、高血压和血脂异常的负担最高，分别为13.9%、15.7%和11.1%。男性吸烟率高于女性，在25.4%至27.8%之间，北部地区吸烟率最高。肥胖率在所有注册人口中为34.7%至37.0%，中部地区最低，而北部地区39.9%的女性体重指数高于30kg/m。所有地区6个月时的纯母乳喂养率均显著低于4个月时。根据Z评分，北部地区儿童超重/肥胖率最高。西部地区人群的传染病报告数量最多。
了解当地人群的疾病模式将使PHCC能够规划一套明确的服务，以满足人群的健康需求，其中包括量身定制的健康教育和促进内容。
