Annals of Family Medicine: New Publications Highlight the Challenges and Resilience of Health Care Professionals in Conflict Zones: Insights from Israel and the Palestinian Territories

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Annals of Family Medicine has released five new articles ahead of its November-December 2024 issue, focusing on the role of family physicians working in conflict zones. These publications examine how the Israeli–Palestinian conflict impacts health care professionals and their communities. 

Editorial: "The Human Face of War"

In this editorial, Caroline R. Richardson, MD, editor-in-chief of Annals of Family Medicine, emphasizes the importance of remembering, supporting, and giving voice to health care professionals and their patients who are living and working under horrifying conditions.

Research Brief: "The 2023 Terror Attack on Southern Israel: Well-Being and Burnout Among Health Care Personnel Treating Traumatized Evacuees"

Authored by Dikla Agur Cohen, MD, MSc, and Merav Sudarsky, MD, this study examines the well-being, resilience, and burnout of health care personnel treating severely traumatized evacuees following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in southern Israel. This research addresses a crucial gap in understanding personnel's emotional resilience and guiding interventions to enhance well-being and improve patient care quality.

Essay: "We Haven't Even Started Crying Yet: Caring For the Family Under Occupation and War in the Occupied Palestinian Territories"

The current war in Gaza has dramatically worsened conditions in the Occupied Territories of Palestine. A family physician and her team in the southern West Bank describe their challenges and give voice to physicians they interviewed to better understand the professional and personal challenges of living and working during the uncertainty of war. This essay captures the fragmented health care system and resource limitations under occupation and the emotional and physical toll on clinicians and their families striving to maintain care for their communities in the face of the continuous threats of violence with the Gaza war. This article is authored by Beesan Maraqa, MD, MPH; Ameed Taher, MD; Husam Dweik, MS5; Ahmad Abu Hadwan, MS5; and Therese Zink, MD, MPH.

Essay: "Healing Amidst Conflict: The Perspective of an Israeli Family Physician During Wartime"

Dikla Agur Cohen, MD, MSc, reflects on her experience volunteering at a primary care clinic near the Dead Sea following the Oct. 7 attack. This essay highlights the immense responsibilities shouldered by family doctors in providing trauma-informed care and emotional support during times of intense fear and displacement.

Special Report: "Family Medicine in Times of War"

Authored by Jeffrey M. Borkan, MD, PhD, this special report examines the role of family physicians in the Israel–Hamas conflict and other current wars. The report explores how lessons learned from these situations can inform future practices in family medicine and highlights the need for family physicians to be prepared to handle both the immediate and long-term effects of war.

"There are clinicians and staff who risk their lives to show up for work every day, trying to care for their communities—families welcoming new babies, and individual patients just trying to manage their diabetes or get help for their anxiety," Dr. Richardson notes in her editorial, urging readers to remember the "regular people" behind the headlines: clinicians risking their lives daily to care for their communities amid relentless challenges.

Annals of Family Medicine is an open access, peer-reviewed, indexed research journal that provides a cross-disciplinary forum for new, evidence-based information affecting the primary care disciplines. Launched in May 2003, Annals of Family Medicine is sponsored by seven family medical organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Board of Family Medicine, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, the North American Primary Care Research Group, and the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Annals of Family Medicine is published online six times each year, charges no fee for publication, and contains original research from the clinical, biomedical, social, and health services areas, as well as contributions on methodology and theory, selected reviews, essays, and editorials. Complete editorial content and interactive discussion groups for each published article can be accessed for free on the journal's website, www.AnnFamMed.org.

SOURCE Annals of Family Medicine