Health Services Utilization Under Qassam Rocket Attacks
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ORIGINAL ARTICLES IMAJ • VOL 15 • August 2013 Health Services Utilization under Qassam Rocket Attacks Lital Goldberg MD1,2, Jacob Dreiher MD MPH1,3, Michael Friger PhD4, Alexander Levin MD5 and Pesach Shvartzman MD1,2,5 1Siaal Research Center, Division of Community Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel 2Department of Family Medicine, Division of Community Health, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel 3Clalit Health Services – General Management, Tel Aviv, Israel 4Department of Epidemiology and Health Services Evaluation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel 5Clalit Health Services – South District, Beer Sheva, Israel Therefore, in times of terrorism and war there could be a genu- ABSTRACT: Background: The Qassam rocket attacks on southern Israel ine increase in morbidity in the civilian population that would during the years 2000–2007 created a unique situation of life manifest in an increased demand for health services. under a continuous threat. The effect of this unique situation on Studies conducted in Israel after the first Gulf War and after health services utilization has not been previously examined. Operation Cast Lead – a warlike operation in the Gaza Strip – Objectives: To evaluate health utilization patterns in two pri- clearly showed that war had an influence on the civilian popula- mary care clinics in southern Israel: one under continuous tion’s pattern of health services use. This influence was reflected attacks of Qassam rockets as compared with a similar clinic in the quantity and quality of visits to primary care physicians not under a rocket threat. and emergency rooms [7,8]. Similar results were observed in Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study studies conducted after the 9/11 World Trade Center attack [9]. in two primary care clinics in southern Israel, with 11,630 The Qassam rocket attacks on southern Israel during the persons listed in the two clinics during the entire study period. The primary outcome measures were total annual number of years 2000–2007 created a unique situation. In contrast to a visits per person to the clinic and for specific diagnoses, and terror attack, which is a one-time event with a transient influ- the number of drug prescriptions issued, emergency room ence, this was a daily barrage of rocket attacks that the civil (ER) visits, hospitalization days, cardiac catheterizations and population has had to cope with for years. The literature has coronary bypass surgeries. addressed the issue of health services utilization patterns after Results: In both clinics there was an increase over time in the a terror attack and war. However, the impact of a continuous mean annual number of visits per person. During the years situation of life-threatening events with uncertainty as to when of severe attacks there was an increase in visits with a chief and where the attack will occur and the association with health complaint of depression and anxiety and an increase in the services utilization has not been investigated. The goal of the number of anxiolytic prescriptions in the study clinic compared present study was to evaluate the impact of this unique situa- with the control. During the same period there was a decrease tion of Qassam attacks on health services utilization. in the number of ER visits in the study clinic compared with the control. Conclusions: The population under continuous life-threat- SUBJECTS AND METHODS ening events showed more depression and anxiety problems. The Israeli health system comprises four health manage- Under severe bombardment, the residents prefer not to leave ment organizations. The 1995 National Health Insurance home, unless necessary. Law mandates that all citizens pay a progressive tax to the IMAJ 2013; 15: 482–486 Social Security Institute that allocates the funds to the HMOs 1 KEY WORDS: family medicine, primary care, health services utilization, according to a capitation formula. The coverage given by all war, terror, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) four health funds is similar. Every citizen is allowed to choose his or her HMO of preference, with no limitations. The vast majority of health services are provided by the HMO facilities or by outsourced facilities that are paid for by the HMO. ontemporary warfare frequently involves the civilian popu- The study was conducted in two towns in southern Israel: C lation. Aside from direct casualties, there are wider psycho- Sderot and Kiryat Gat. Both towns are located in the Negev, logical and physiological consequences [1]. Studies have shown a desert region that is scarcely populated. Both are served by that exposure to terrorism and war is related to high rates of the same two hospitals: Soroka University Medical Center, a morbidity, mainly mental disorders, especially post-traumatic tertiary 1000-bed hospital which is a 40 minute drive from stress disorder [2], but other conditions as well, such as asthma [3,4], diabetes mellitus [5] and acute myocardial infarction [6]. HMO = health management organization 482 IMAJ • VOL 15 • August 2013 ORIGINAL ARTICLES of Clalit Health Services, the largest HMO in Israel, which Figure 1. Number of Qassam rockets fired at Sderot, by years insures 60% of the Negev population. The study was approved 1000 by the Institutional Review Board of Meir Medical Center. 946 900 STUDY POPULATION 800 783 The study population included all those listed in both clin- 700 ics during the entire study period 2000–2007. Only patients 600 continuously enrolled throughout the study period were 500 included in the study. Enrolment status was based on the 400 HMO’s registry of basic enrolment payment, regardless of actual health services utilization. Number of Qassams Number of 281 300 200 155 DATA COLLECTION 179 100 Data were obtained from the computerized databases of 35 0 0 4 0 Clalit Health Services for each year and grouped according 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 to the time periods noted above. This database includes data Years regarding secondary services and drug prescriptions for the years 2000–2007. Primary care visits were reliably recorded both towns, and Barzilai Medical Center, a secondary hospi- as of mid-2002. Therefore, data regarding primary care visits tal 30 minutes from both towns. These two hospitals and their were available for 2002–2007. For 2002, since data for the emergency departments worked continuously throughout the Sderot clinic (the study clinic) were available only for the study period. second half of the year, they were extrapolated for 12 months The town of Sderot is located about 1 km from the Gaza to allow comparison with the subsequent years. Strip and has been under Qassam rocket attack since 2000 [10]. During the first 3 years there were no casualties, and VARIABLES AND MEASURES the popular view in Israel was that the Qassam rockets were The frequency of Qassam rockets was defined as the number a transient episode. During the years 2003–2005 there was of Qassam rockets fired each year, as reported by the Home an increase in the number of firing incidents; these were life- Front Command of the Israel Defense Force. The study threatening events and people were injured and even killed. period was divided into three sub-periods according to the During the years 2006–2007 the bombardment became an number of rockets fired per year: almost daily event and a unique situation was created in • Mild fire: during the years 2000–2002, only several isolated Sderot: “life under the threat of Qassams” – a life of continu- Qassam shootings ous fear and assault to the daily routine [Figure 1]. • Moderate fire: during 2003–2005, attacks increased to an The population of Kiryat Gat, located 30 km from Sderot, average of 205 Qassam rockets per year served as the control group for the present study due to its • Severe fire: during 2006–2007, attacks further increased to socio-demographic similarity to the population of Sderot. more than 700 rockets per year. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2009 there were 19,500 residents in Sderot and 47,900 in Kiryat Health services utilization included the following parameters: Gat. The population in both towns is characterized by a low • The annual number of visits per person to the primary socioeconomic level. In 2003, both towns were rated 4 by care clinic during the years 2002–2007 a socio-demographic index of 1–10 (1 denoting the lowest • The annual number of visits per person to the primary level and 10 the highest). This index was calculated by the care clinic for specific diagnoses: cardiovascular (hyper- Central Bureau of Statistics using 14 parameters regarding tension, coronary heart disease, stroke), depression and demographics, education, economic level, working popula- anxiety, headache, asthma, diabetes, non-specific com- tion, and needy population. The average salary in both towns plaints (agitation, fatigue, general weakness, dizziness, was approximately 60% of the average salary in Israel [11]. insomnia, dyspnea) during 2002–2007 The study was conducted in two primary care clinics • Utilization of secondary services: annual number of visits owned by Clalit Health Services: the major clinic in Sderot, to the ER2, hospitalization days, coronary angiography and which was under the threat of Qassam rockets (the study bypass surgery procedures per person during 2000–2007 clinic), and the major clinic in Kiryat Gat, which was not • The annual number of drug prescriptions per person under threat and served as a control. Data were collected from the computerized database of the southern district ER = emergency room 483 ORIGINAL ARTICLES IMAJ • VOL 15 • August 2013 by pharmacological group: anxiolytics, antidepressants, During the study period there were 727,162 visits in both bronchodilators, and anti-migraine medications during clinics.