Abstract
Objectives
The study investigated the association between socio-economic status (SES) and self-reported chronic disease (CD) among the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and whether this association was similar in the refugee camps.
Methods
We used data from representative samples in 2006 and 2010 collected by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. SES was defined by education, wealth and employment status. Associations between SES and CD were analysed and stratified by living in or outside refugee camps.
Results
CD prevalence increased among men and decreased among women in all SES categories and the Odds Ratio for CD was higher inside than outside the refugee camps, except for women in 2006. In both 2006 and 2010 the odds ratio of CD was higher among the lowest SES groups. The pattern of the negative association between SES and CD was similar in and outside the refugee camps.
Conclusions
We found that the highest burden of CD is among those with low SES. In spite of a higher CD Odds Ratio in the refugee camps, the pattern of association between SES and CD did not differ in the refugee camps.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abukhdeir HF, Caplan LS, Reese L, Alema-Mensah E (2013) Factors affecting the prevalence of chronic diseases in palestinian people: an analysis of data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. East Mediterr Health J 19(4):307–313
Abu-Rmeileh NME, Hammoudeh W, Mataria A, Husseini A, Khawaja M, Shannon HS, Hogan D, Watt GCM, Zurayk H, Giacaman R (2012) Health-related quality of life of Gaza Palestinians in the aftermath of the winter 2008-09 Israeli attack on the strip. Eur J Pub Health 22(5):732–737. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckr131
Al-Khatib IA, Kamal N, Hamed N, Hmeidan N, Massad S (2003) Impact of housing conditions on the health of the people at Al-Ama’ri refugee camp in the West Bank of Palestine. Int J Environ Health Res 13(4):315–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603120310001616092
Al-Khatib IA, Arafat RN, Musmar M (2005) Housing environment and Women’s health in a Palestinian Refugee Camp. Int J Environ Health Res 15(3):181–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603120500105950
Bates K, Leone T, Ghandour R, Mitwalli S, Nasr S, Coast E, Giacaman R (2017) Women’s health in the occupied palestinian territories: contextual influences on subjective and objective health measures. PLoS ONE 12(10):e0186610. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186610
Batniji R, Rabaia Y, Nguyen-Gillham V, Giacaman R, Sarraj E, Punamaki R, Saab H, Boyce W (2009) Health as human security in the occupied Palestinian territory. Lancet 373(9669):1133–1143. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60110-0
Boutayeb A, Boutayeb S, Boutayeb W (2013) Multi-morbidity of non communicable diseases and equity in WHO eastern mediterranean countries. Int J Equity Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-12-60
Chaaban J, Ghattas H, Habib R, Hanafi S, Sahyoun N, Salti N, Seyfert K, Naamani N (2010) Socio-economic survey of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The American University of Beirut (AUB) & the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Christos PJ, Chemaitelly H, Abu-Raddad LJ, Zirie MA, Deleu D, Mushlin AI (2014) Prevention of type II diabetes mellitus in Qatar: who is at risk? Qatar Med J. https://doi.org/10.5339/qmj.2014.13
Daniel K (2008) Chronic disease epidemiology. In: Boslaugh Sarah, McNutt Louise-Anne (eds) Encyclopedia of epidemiology. Sage, Thousand Oaks, pp 181–185
Diderichsen F, Evans T, Whitehead M (2001) The social basis of disparities in health. In: Evans T, Whitehead M, Diderichsen F, Bhuiya A, Wirth M (eds) Challenging inequities in health: from ethics to action. Oxford University Press, Oxford
GBD 2015 Eastern Mediterranean Region Cancer Collaborators Int J Public Health (2017a) Burden of cancer in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2005–2015: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study. Int J Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-017-0999-9
GBD 2015 Eastern Mediterranean Region Cardiovascular Disease Collaborators Int J Public Health (2017b) Cardiovascular diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean region, 1990–2015: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study. Int J Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-017-1012-3
Habib RRZ, Fawaz MM, Basma SH, Yeretzian JS (2009) Housing quality and ill health in a disadvantaged urban community. Public Health 123(2):174–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2008.11.002
Husseini A, Abu-Rmeileh NME, Mikki N, Ramahi TM, Abu Ghosh H, Barghuthi N, Khalili M, Bjertness E, Holmboe-Ottesen G, Jervell J (2009) Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and cancer in the occupied Palestinian territory’. Lancet 373(9668):1041–1049. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60109-4
Jackson RT, Al-Mousa Z, Al-Raqua M, Prakash P, Muhanna AN (2002) Multiple coronary risk factors in healthy older Kuwaiti males. Eur J Clin Nutr 56(8):709–714. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601379
Kaplan GA (2001) Socioeconomic status and health. In Smelser NJ, Baltes PB (eds) International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences. Pergamon, Oxford, pp. 14554–14558. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080430767038274
Mokdad AH, Jaber S, Abdel Aziz MI, AlBuhairan F, AlGhaithi A, AlHamad NM, Al-Hooti SN et al (2014) The state of health in the Arab World, 1990–2010: an analysis of the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. Lancet (Lond Engl) 383(9914):309–320. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62189-3
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (2007) Palestinian Family Health Survey, 2006: Preliminary Report. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Ramallah
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (2013) Final Report of the Palestinian Family Survey 2010. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Ramallah
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (2014) Palestine in figures 2013. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Ramallah. http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2040.pdf. Accessed 2 June 2018
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), and The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) (2012) Socio-Economic & Food Security Survey 2012—West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestine. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, FAO, WFP, UNRWA, Palestine
Rocco L, Tanabe K, Suhrcke M, Fumagalli E (2011) Chronic diseases and labor market outcomes in Egypt. The World Bank. http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/1813-9450-5575. Accessed 2 June 2018
Salame J, Tyan P, Salameh P, Waked M (2014) Hyperreactive airway disease in adults: data from a national study in Lebanon. Leban Med J 62(3):143–149
Shah NM, Behbehani J, Shah MA (2010) Prevalence and correlates of major chronic illnesses among older Kuwaiti nationals in two governorates. Med Prin Pract Int J Kuwait Univ Health Sci Cent 19(2):105–112. https://doi.org/10.1159/000273069
Shahraz S, Forouzanfar MH, Sepanlou SG, Dicker D, Naghavi P, Pourmalek F, Mokdad A et al (2014) Population health and burden of disease profile of Iran among 20 countries in the region: from Afghanistan to Qatar and Lebanon. Arch Iranian Med 17(5):336–342. https://doi.org/0141705/AIM.006
Sozmen K, Unal B, Saidi O, Romdhane HB, Abu-Rmeileh NME, Husseini A, Fouad F et al (2015) Cardiovascular risk factor trends in the Eastern Mediterranean region: evidence from four countries is alarming. Int J Public Health 60(Suppl 1):S1–S2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-014-0610-6
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (2014) Annual Report 2013. UNRWA health department. http://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/files/health_annual_report_2013.pdf
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (2016) UNRWA 2018. http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work. Accessed 1 Mar 2018
World Health Organization (2010) Global status report on noncommunicable diseases 2010. World Health Organization, Geneva
World Health Organization (2012) WHO/NMH/CCS/03—STEPS_Instrument_v2.1.pdf. http://www.who.int/ncds/surveillance/steps/STEPS_Instrument_v2.1.pdf
Zabaneh JE, Watt GCM, O’Donnell CA (2008) Living and health conditions of Palestinian refugees in an unofficial camp in the Lebanon: a cross-sectional survey. J Epidemiol Community Health 62(2):91–97. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2006.054338
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Informed consent
Participants in the study have given an informed consent to participate.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jonassen, M., Shaheen, A., Duraidi, M. et al. Socio-economic status and chronic disease in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip: in and outside refugee camps. Int J Public Health 63, 875–882 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-018-1122-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-018-1122-6