Association of bullying behaviour with smoking, alcohol use and drug use among school students in Erbil City, Iraq

Background: Substance use and bullying are prevalent among adolescents and have a wide range of adverse outcomes. The association of bullying with substance use has not been examined in Kurdistan and Iraq, which have suffered from the effects of long-term conflict and economic hardship. Aims: To examine the association between each form of bullying among adolescents and substance use. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of public schools in Erbil City, Iraq in 2017. The study involved 1070 adolescents selected from 35 schools using a multistage cluster sampling method. A self-reported close-ended questionnaire was used for data collection. Male and female students attending grades 7–12 and aged 13–18 years were included. Results: The overall prevalence of bullying behaviour was 60.0%; 30.8% were victims, 26.2% were bully-victims, and 3.0% were bullies. There was a significant association between different forms and categories of bullying and substance use. The strongest association was with the students involved in sexual bullying, followed by racial and cyber bullying. The strongest association between bullying and substance use was found in the bully-victim category, followed by victims and bullies. Conclusions: Substance use and bullying behaviour seem to be widespread problems among adolescents in Erbil schools. Substance use is significantly associated with different categories of bullying behaviour. There is a need for effective school-based preventive interventions to tackle these problems. Future research needs to examine the likely direction of the association between bullying and substance use.

Mortality trends in Erbil, Iraq, 2007–2011

Background: Reliable and valid information on trends of mortality and common causes of death is essential to guide priorities for the allocation of resources within the health sector in order to improve health services for the population, increase longevity and improve quality of life.Aims: This study aimed to determine crude, gender, age and cause specific death rates and to examine mortality trends in a five-year period between 2007 and 2011 in Erbil City, Iraq. Methods: This study researched 16 780 deaths registered at the statistical unit of the Directorate of Health, Irbil City. Data were reviewed and cleared for the purpose of analysis. Causes of deaths were classified according to body systems.Results: The average crude death rate was 3.1 per 1000 population with male predominance over females in all the years of study (3.5 and. 2.7, respectively). The age-specific death rates were high in the old and middle age groups in addition to the under 5 years age group. Accidents and circulatory diseases were the leading causes of deaths with rates of 65.2 and 58.3/100 000 population, respectively. Conclusions: An accurate identification of cause of death suggests that the only use of the death certificate in Erbil is for the purpose of burial and legal issues, and therefore it is imperative for educational efforts to achieve a complete and comprehensive death registration.

Contexte : Il est essentiel de disposer d’informations fiables et valables sur les tendances de la mortalité et les causes communes de décès pour orienter les priorités en matière d’allocation des ressources dans le secteur de la santé afin d’améliorer les services de santé pour la population, d’accroître la longévité et d’améliorer la qualité de vie.Objectifs : La présente étude visait à déterminer les taux de mortalité bruts spécifiques, par sexe, par âge et par cause et à examiner les tendances de la mortalité sur une période de cinq ans entre 2007 et 2011 à Erbil en Iraq. Méthodes : Cette étude a porté sur 16 780 décès enregistrés à l’Unité des statistiques de la Direction de la Santé, de la ville d’Erbil. Les données ont été examinées et validées à des fins d’analyse. Les causes de décès ont été classées en fonction des systèmes corporels.Résultats : Le taux brut moyen de mortalité était de 3,1 pour 1000 habitants, avec une prédominance des hommes par rapport aux femmes dans toutes les années de l’étude (3,5 et 2,7-2,5) respectivement. Les taux de mortalité par âge étaient élevés dans les groupes des personnes âgées et des personnes d’âge moyen, en plus de ceux des moins de 5 ans. Les accidents et les maladies circulatoires étaient les principales causes de décès avec des taux de 65,2 et 58,3/100 000 habitants respectivement. Conclusions : Une identification précise de la cause du décès laisse supposer que le certificat de décès à Erbil n’est utilisé qu’à des fins d’inhumation et du fait de problèmes juridiques, et qu’il est donc impératif de déployer des efforts éducatifs pour parvenir à un enregistrement complet et détaillé du décès.