BACKGROUND In recent years, increasing dust storms from western neighboring countries of Iran influenced western and central parts of the country. In this case, level of concentration of atmospheric particulate matter greater than 10 μm (PM10) remained higher for several days compared to the levels before the event. Accordingly, Suspended particulate matters of dust storms in western Iran have ...

In this issue of the journal, Moradi et al., have demonstrated that in Kurdistan Province of Iran individuals in lower socio-economic groups are more likely to have several risk factors for non-communicable diseases, including insufficient consumption of fruit and vegetables, insufficient consumption of fish, high consumption of unhealthy fat and oils, and hypertension. Moradi et al.’s study wa...

Introduction: Here, we present two case reports of adult female patients with the pathologic diagnosis of large sacrococcygeal teratoma. Case Series: In the first patient (aged 19 years), pelvic ultrasonographic examination showed a large (85.9×88.7 mm) multiloculated complex cyst posterior to the cervix. No evidence of recurrence was observed post-resection. The histological examination of the...

BACKGROUND Studies introduce maternal and neonatal safety phenomena as important challenges to the public health, particularly in low-income countries. However, few researches are conducted on the identification of safety issues in maternity hospitals in Iraq. It was the first study on nurses' perspectives on safety issues in Kurdistan, Iraq. OBJECTIVES The current study aimed to describe nur...

BACKGROUND The health system of Iraqi Kurdistan is severely understudied, particularly with regard to patient-physician interactions and their effects. We examine patterns of behaviour among physicians in Kurdistan, the justifications given and possible enabling factors, with a view to understanding accountability both from above and below. METHODS An ethnographic study was conducted in the S...

tani and white British pregnant women, but differences in health behaviours during pregnancy between these two groups are under researched. Methods 4807 (1831 white British, 2222 Pakistani and 754 of Other origin) pregnant women were interviewed at 26e28 weeks of gestation using a questionnaire which collected information on alcohol, cigarette, caffeine, pregnancy vitamin and fruit and vegetabl...

Dear Editor, High quality health services need not only be universally accessible but also utilized by those for whom they are meant. Client satisfaction is an important determinant of health service utilization. According to Keegan, satisfaction comprises both cognitive and emotional facets and is related to previous experiences, expectations and social networks. Fulfilling clients' satisfacti...