Recommendations
Relevance:
The relevance of the UNRWA health data is high for any research which aims
at studying the health condition of the Palestine refugees who use UNRWA
health services. Health data based on the routine reporting of medical diagnosis
have high relevance for studies of health and morbidity. A uniform reporting
system across the five UNRWA Fields of operations provides opportunities
for comparisons. Health data have been produced by the Department of Health
since the inception of UNRWA and thus provide opportunities for studies
of trends in the health situation of Palestine refugees over the last 45
years.
Scope:
The scope would improve if health information were linked up with reliable
demographic data, preferably in a computerized system. Such a link would
improve research possibilities by manifesting which segments of the refugee
population the data cover. Such a link would also provide opportunities
for studying relations between health related conditions and socio-economic
factors. At Health Centre level, clinical data are recorded in files prepared
on the basis of the family's registration card. If these primary data are
kept and stored (i.e. not destroyed), the quality of the data is higher.
Quality:
The reliability of the medical diagnosis may be affected by short time for
consultations for each patient. Additional resources to increase the time
per consultation would probably increase the reliability of the data. (Diagnosis
are in some cases based on laboratory standards-as opposed to clinically
based standards-and rely on available laboratory equipment. To evaluate
whether UNRWA Health Department has sufficient such equipment is outside
the scope of this study.)
Access:
Access to health data is limited to statistics (number of cases) on a Field
level of aggregation. Access to primary data on a lower level of aggregation,
such as individual, clinic and Area level would increase the research value
of the data. Again this depend on whether the Agency's Health Centres store
the primary data which they produce and collect. Protection of the refugees'
right to privacy is particularly important and could be safeguarded by anonymization
procedures and by requiring research permissions to access the data.
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