JMERC
Owner
Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC) is the owner of IJWPH.
0.5
Cite Score
SJR: 0.129 / SNIP: 0.140
Volume 17, Issue 3 (2025)
Iran J War Public Health 2025, 17(3): 325-333 |
Back to browse issues page
Article Type:
Subject:
Ethics code: IR.AJAUMS.REC.1402.044
History
Received: 2025/06/14 | Accepted: 2025/07/26 | Published: 2025/07/30
Received: 2025/06/14 | Accepted: 2025/07/26 | Published: 2025/07/30
How to cite this article
Zibasokhan S, Sharififar S, Azizi M, Teimouri F, Azarmi S. Challenges and Promotion Strategies of Temporary Medical Centers in Mass gatherings; A Qualitative Study. Iran J War Public Health 2025; 17 (3) :325-333
URL: http://ijwph.ir/article-1-1660-en.html
URL: http://ijwph.ir/article-1-1660-en.html
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Rights and permissions
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
1- Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, Faculty of Nursing, Aja University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract (366 Views)
Aims: The Arbaeen pilgrimage is considered one of the largest annual religious gatherings in the world. A large number of pilgrims participate in this event, which can pose many challenges to their health. These challenges include respiratory, digestive, and infectious diseases, muscle and skeletal problems, various types of trauma, heatstroke or frostbite, and even the recurrence of chronic diseases. This study aimed to examine the challenges faced by military temporary medical centers and identify solutions to overcome these challenges.
Participants & Methods: This qualitative study used in-depth and semi-structured interviews and field observations for data collection. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method. The research was carried out by observing an approach that maximizes diversity among the target population, comprising managers, healthcare decision-makers, providers, and clients of the military temporary medical centers during the 2024 Arbaeen Pilgrimage.
Findings: Data saturation was achieved after conducting 15 interviews. By analyzing the data, codes were extracted and organized into two domains, including challenges and promotion strategies. The main categories of challenges included resources and infrastructure, leadership and organization, community and knowledge, and health and safety. In the promotion strategies domain, the main categories included resource optimization, leadership and development, community awareness, and health and safety.
Conclusion: The main challenges faced by military temporary medical centers are resources and infrastructure, leadership and organization, community and knowledge, and health and safety, while the promotion strategies encompasses resource optimization, leadership and development, community awareness, and health and safety.
Participants & Methods: This qualitative study used in-depth and semi-structured interviews and field observations for data collection. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method. The research was carried out by observing an approach that maximizes diversity among the target population, comprising managers, healthcare decision-makers, providers, and clients of the military temporary medical centers during the 2024 Arbaeen Pilgrimage.
Findings: Data saturation was achieved after conducting 15 interviews. By analyzing the data, codes were extracted and organized into two domains, including challenges and promotion strategies. The main categories of challenges included resources and infrastructure, leadership and organization, community and knowledge, and health and safety. In the promotion strategies domain, the main categories included resource optimization, leadership and development, community awareness, and health and safety.
Conclusion: The main challenges faced by military temporary medical centers are resources and infrastructure, leadership and organization, community and knowledge, and health and safety, while the promotion strategies encompasses resource optimization, leadership and development, community awareness, and health and safety.
Keywords:
Military Personnel [MeSH], Disease [MeSH], Interview [MeSH], Health [MeSH], Qualitative Research [MeSH]
References
1. Farahani AJ, Zijoud SRH. Research and researchers of hygiene, medicine and health field in the service of Arbaeen walk. J Mil Med. 2019;21(6):547-8. [Persian] [Link]
2. Hamdanieh L, Ostadtaghizadeh A. Arbaeen in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2021;15(4):e16. [Link] [DOI:10.1017/dmp.2020.362]
3. Memish ZA, Zumla A, Alhakeem RF, Assiri A, Turkestani A, Al Harby KD, et al. Hajj: Infectious disease surveillance and control. Lancet. 2014;383(9934):2073-82. [Link] [DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60381-0]
4. Karampourian A, Ghomian Z, Khorasani-Zavareh D. Exploring challenges of health system preparedness for communicable diseases in Arbaeen mass gathering: A qualitative study. F1000Res. 2018;7:1448. [Link] [DOI:10.12688/f1000research.15290.1]
5. Mehrabi Tavana A. Examining common diseases in the Arbaeen ceremony and prevention strategies. J Combat Med. 2023;6(1):26-31. [Persian] [Link]
6. Nazari A, Noori G, Mohammadyari E, Taebi G, Tavan H. Survey of infectious and non-infectious diseases and the survival of pilgrims at health centers of Ilam on the day of Arbaeen in 2016. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2018;20(S1):1-2. [Link] [DOI:10.5812/ircmj.14538]
7. Choi YW, Eltahir E. Heat stress during Arba'een foot‐pilgrimage (world's largest gathering) projected to reach "dangerous" levels due to climate change. Geophys Res Lett. 2022;49. [Link] [DOI:10.1029/2022GL099755]
8. I. R. Crescent. Providing relief to more than 24 thousand people under the relief of Arbaeen 2023 [Internet]. Tehran: Iranian Red Crescent; 2023 [cited 2025 August 28]. Available from: https://rcs.ir/portal/newsview/193956. [Persian] [Link]
9. Brown JF, Smith JG, Tataris K. Medical management of mass gatherings. In: Emergency Medical services: Clinical practice and systems oversight. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons; 2015. p. 264-71. [Link] [DOI:10.1002/9781118990810.ch101]
10. Park D, Kim Y. Awareness of temporary field emergency medical centers operated by paramedics on a first-come-first-served basis in a mass casualty disaster. Fire Sci Eng. 2021;35(2):101-7. [Link] [DOI:10.7731/KIFSE.5144ce33]
11. Farahmand F, Hayati F, Mousavi-Roknabadi RS, Safaei-Firouzabadi H, Hosseini-Marvast SR, Mohsenian L. Treatment camp and patients in Arbaeen pilgrimage in 2019. Int J Travel Med Glob Health. 2022;10(1):24-31. [Link] [DOI:10.34172/ijtmgh.2022.05]
12. Soltani A, Aram M, Alaeddini F, Ahmadi Marzaleh M. Challenges of health services during Arbaeen pilgrimage in 2019. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2021;23(4):e678. [Link]
13. Moulaei K, Bastaminejad S, Haghdoost A. Health challenges and facilitators of Arbaeen pilgrimage: A scoping review. BMC Public Health. 2024;24(1):132. [Link] [DOI:10.1186/s12889-024-17640-9]
14. Hamis AA, Md Bukhori AB, Heng PP, Jane Ling MY, Shaharuddin MA, A Fauzi NAF, et al. Strategies, challenges and opportunities in the implementation of COVID-19 field hospitals: A scoping review. BMJ Open. 2023;13(3):e067227. [Link] [DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067227]
15. Castro Delgado R, Pérez Quesada P, Pintado García E, Marañón Zabalza I, Vallina-Victorero Vázquez M, Escribano Balín R. Alternate care sites for COVID-19 patients: Experience from the H144 hospital of the health service of the principality of Asturias, Spain. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2021;36(6):774-81. [Link] [DOI:10.1017/S1049023X21001102]
16. Chen Z, He S, Li F, Yin J, Chen X. Mobile field hospitals, an effective way of dealing with COVID-19 in China: Sharing our experience. Biosci Trends. 2020;14(3):212-4. [Link] [DOI:10.5582/bst.2020.01110]
17. Baughman AW, Hirschberg RE, Lucas LJ, Suarez ED, Stockmann D, Hutton Johnson S, et al. Pandemic care through collaboration: Lessons from a COVID-19 field hospital. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2020;21(11):1563-7. [Link] [DOI:10.1016/j.jamda.2020.09.003]
18. Lami F, Ali AA, Fathullah K, Abdullatif H. Assessment of temporary medical clinics during the Arbaeenia mass gathering at Al-Karkh, Baghdad, Iraq, in 2014: Cross-sectional study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2019;5(3):e10903. [Link] [DOI:10.2196/10903]
19. Graneheim UH, Lundman B. Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: Concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Educ Today. 2004;24(2):105-12. [Link] [DOI:10.1016/j.nedt.2003.10.001]
20. Pezalla AE, Pettigrew J, Miller-Day M. Researching the researcher-as-instrument: An exercise in interviewer self-reflexivity. Qual Res. 2012;12(2):165-85. [Link] [DOI:10.1177/1468794111422107]
21. Porter DJ, Cooper S. The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis and generation of evidence. 6th ed. N. Burns, S.K. Grove. Saunders Elsevier, St Louis, Missouri (2009). ISBN: 9781416054689-hbk, £45.99. Int Emerg Nurs. 2009;17(3):188-9. [Link]
22. Al-Lami F, Al-Fatlawi A, Bloland P, Nawwar A, Jetheer A, Hantoosh H, et al. Pattern of morbidity and mortality in Karbala hospitals during Ashura mass gathering at Karbala, Iraq, 2010. East Mediterr Health J. 2013;19 Suppl 2:S13-8. [Link] [DOI:10.26719/2013.19.Supp2.S13]
23. Alqahtani AS, Wiley KE, Tashani M, Willaby HW, Heywood AE, BinDhim NF, et al. Exploring barriers to and facilitators of preventive measures against infectious diseases among Australian Hajj pilgrims: Cross-sectional studies before and after Hajj. Int J Infect Dis. 2016;47:53-9. [Link] [DOI:10.1016/j.ijid.2016.02.005]
24. Lami F, Amiri M, Majeed Y, Barr KM, Nsour MA, Khader YS. Real-time surveillance of infectious diseases, injuries, and chronic conditions during the 2018 Iraq Arba'een mass gathering. Health Secur. 2021;19(3):280-7. [Link] [DOI:10.1089/hs.2020.0074]
25. Alfelali M, Haworth EA, Barasheed O, Badahdah AM, Bokhary H, Tashani M, et al. Facemask against viral respiratory infections among Hajj pilgrims: A challenging cluster-randomized trial. PLoS One. 2020;15(10):e0240287. [Link] [DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0240287]
26. Al-Ansari F, Al Ansari M, Hill-Cawthorne GA, Abdulzahra MS, Al-Ansari MB, Al-Ansari B, et al. Arbaeen public health concerns: A pilot cross-sectional survey. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2020;35:101546. [Link] [DOI:10.1016/j.tmaid.2019.101546]
27. Kheradmand JA, Khankeh H, Borujeni SMH, Nasiri A, Shahrestanki YA, Ghanbari V, et al. Analysis of healthcare services in 2019 Arbaeen March: A qualitative study. Health Emerg Disasters Q. 2024;9(2):125-36. [Link] [DOI:10.32598/hdq.9.2.524.1]
28. Mohammadinia L, Sharifisadeh M, Lashkari H, Moradian F, Choobineh H. A review of the condition of OPD patients in Arba'een on-foot pilgrimage in 2019. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2021;23(2). [Link]
29. Akbari K, Zareiyan A, Yari A, Najafi M, Azizi M, Ostadtaghizadeh A. Mental health preparedness and response to epidemics focusing on COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study in Iran. BMC Public Health. 2024;24(1):1980. [Link] [DOI:10.1186/s12889-024-19526-2]
30. Madani SMS, Bahramnejad A, Farsi Z, Alizadeh A, Azizi M. The effect of psychological first-aid virtual education on the communication skills of nurses in disasters: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychol. 2024;12(1):194. [Link] [DOI:10.1186/s40359-024-01682-0]