According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, there are currently 49 on-going armed conflicts in the world, mainly in low- and middle-income countries. Several studies have documented that armed conflict cause a breakdown of existing health care systems rapidly resulting in limited or no surgical resources to treat potentially life-threatening, injuries.
Furthermore, injuries from armed conflict are often more complex and treatment frequently requires more extensive resources than injuries seen in a non-conflict setting. For civilian health care personnel, especially surgeons, with no experience of war injuries, this represents a major challenge. Many medical interventions in armed conflicts have previously more focused on doing good rather than doing right resulting in suboptimal use of surgical resources and outcome for patients.
The overall aim of this project is to understand and identify strategies to improve how surgical resources are used in armed conflict. The project currently focuses on four key areas:
Understanding the skills and preparation needs for health care personnel in armed conflict
Understanding the connection between demographics, epidemiology and injury patterns in armed conflict
There are many reports and studies on injury epidemiology from different conflicts, but less is known about how differences in demographics and weapons used affects the injury patterns and treatment needs in armed conflicts. We are currently studying if such a correlation can be seen in recent conflicts in DR Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan. So far this has resulted in the publication: Hospital Workload for Weapon-Wounded Females Treated by the International Committee of the Red Cross: More Work Needed than for Males. Andersson, P., Muhrbeck, M., Veen, H. et al. World J Surg (2018) 42: 93.
With this subproject we aim to identify recurrent injury patterns based on demographics and weapons used in conflicts, which could have significant impact on how surgical missions in armed conflicts are planned and executed.
Identifying possible strategies to predict what surgical resources are needed in a specific conflict
ICRC has developed a system for wound classification (the Red Cross Wound Classification, RCWC) in order to help surgeons assess and triage penetrating wounds. Also, the RCWC could serve as a predictor of mortality and resource consumption. The relationship between the RCWC, mortality and resource use has, however, so far not been studied to any great extent. If RCWC is proven to reliably predict mortality and resource use, it could be used in comparative studies, quality audits of health care facilities and planning of surgical interventions in different conflict environments.
Identifying treatment methods that could improve surgical treatment for victims of armed conflicts
In the last decades surgical treatment of complex extremity and soft tissue injuries in the civilian setting as well as in military operated health care facilities has improved. Treatment protocols have been validated and new treatment options, such as negative pressure treatment, have emerged. Whether similar improvements can be seen in the treatment of injuries in armed conflicts with limited resources as those where the ICRC is working has not previously been studied. Our objective is to identify and evaluate treatment methods that can improve resource use and outcome in the humanitarian care for injured in armed conflicts.
The project "Victims of Armed Conflicts: Predicting Surgical Treatment Needs and Improving Resource Use” was initiated in 2014. It is a collaboration between the Centre for Teaching and Research in Disaster medicine and Traumatology at Linköping University, Surgical Department of Vrinnevi Hospital in Norrköping, International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Centre for Research on Health Care in Disasters at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and Radboud University in Nijmegen.
Psychiatric resilience in weapon wounded victims of war
Little is known about the mental effects in individuals with serious weapon-related physical injuries. This project is a collaboration between KMC and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). A team of psychiatrists will use a validated questionnaire to evaluate the psychosocial and mental state of patients admitted to the ICRC hospital in northern Nigeria. The objective is to detect mental issues and to evaluate differences of mental resilience in victims of weapon-related trauma. Expected outcome is information on how to better support victims of war, and how to provide a more holistic approach often lacking in current care of these patients.
