Time for patient leaflets on the Hajj
BMJ 2011; 343 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d6609 (Published 01 November 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d6609
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We welcome insights offered by Dr. Greenhalgh in her letter to the editor 1, and wish to add the following Saudi Arabia link that provides source information in six languages for health practitioners and pilgrims: www.moh.gov.sa/en/Hajj/Pages/default.aspx. Toll free information is available by calling +8002494444.
Coordinating local messaging with official Saudi Arabia ministry sources is essential and must be emphasized. Details do matter. What might appear to others as a trivial digression from official Saudi Arabia information may be in fact be misleading even harmful to our pilgrims. Immunization requirements are particularly important.2
Although Ministry outreach efforts are largely directed through public health portals, in particular those of the World Health Organization, we expect to develop accessible Hajj messaging through local public health agencies and social media including medical practitioner specific portals that should be operational in time for Hajj 2012. Rest assured we pay close attention to primary care physicians who must implement our policies for individual patients.
Our colleagues should be aware that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has an advanced healthcare system infrastructure. There are 141 primary medical clinics and 24 hospitals in the immediate vicinity of the Hajj well staffed with nurses and doctors. Perhaps the most useful patient information primary care doctors can provide us is a brief diagnostic summary with prescription details in a document small enough to fit into a pilgrim’s wallet or money pouch.
In closing, we wish to add that Saudi Arabia, with the support of the WHO, expects to inaugurate an international Reference Centre for Mass Gatherings Medicine in the near future. 3,4 This centre will be the first of its kind and will address medical and scientific issues that have not found support elsewhere until now.
Ziad A Memish, MD, FRCPC, FACP, FIDSA
Assistant Deputy Minister, Preventive Medicine Directorate
Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health
Riyadh 11176
1. Greenhalgh T. Time for Patient leaflets on the Hajj. BMJ 2011; 343:d6609.
2. World Health Organization: Weekly epidemiological record 2011 86: 425-436.
www.who.int/wer
3. McConnell J, Memish Z.The Lancet Conference on mass gatherings medicine. Lancet Infect Dis 2010; 10:818-19.
4. Memish Z, Alrabeeah AA. Jeddah declaration on mass gatherings health. Lancet 2011; 11:342-43.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Tricia Greenhalgh (BMJ 2011:343:d6609), in her letter on patient leaflets for the Hajj, highlights a more general issue. Producing leaflets in English is costly and counter productive to the integration and need for immigrants to learn English as part of their citizenship and to participate in the culture of the UK. This is relevant for instance in the case of women needing to have confidential consultations with doctors without being inhibited by an interpreter. Instead of producing leaflets, we need to encourage patients, particularly women, to learn English and achieve equality.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Professor Greenhalgh has called for patient information leaflets
regarding the Hajj. She identified the importance of leaflets that are in
"priority languages" (for example Arabic), that are written by a Muslim,
that acknowledge Allah and are in a downloadable format.
I am a South African Muslim Family Physician (GP) who has written
various patient information leaflets for Muslims in the past which have
been published by the Islamic Medical Association of South Africa. This
year, a downloadable booklet entitled "Health Guidelines for Hajj and
Umrah" was produced. Although the booklet is in English, it fulfils
Professor Greenhalgh's other suggestions. It is available for free
distribution and a downloadable copy is available at www.ima-sa.org.za by
clicking on the link on the bottom left corner of the screen. There is
also a series of 13 You Tube talks to compliment the booklet
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqzEvryQkyQ or search for "Health
Guidelines for Hajj and Umrah" on You Tube). The booklet is also
available for download to a popular tablet reader through Amazon.co.uk and
Amazon.com for a nominal fee (it is not possible to distribute
publications for free using this system).
As the booklet is largely for free distribution and it has no
copyright, it can be adapted for a UK setting and translated into various
languages. The Islamic Council of Victoria in Australia is in the process
of adapting a version for Australian Muslims. If there is interest in
translating or adapting this booklet and further information is required,
please do not hesitate to contact me.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Re: Time for patient leaflets on the Hajj
Dear all,
Two years ago, a colleague and I were asked by an umbrella organisation (Council of European Jamaats) that unifies mosques, to write a patient information leaflet for this purpose.
It can be accessed via this link: http://www.coej.org/boardsdesks/hajj/78-news/1332-health-advice-for-hujj...
If you find it useful, please bookmark it for next year's Hajj season, which will begin in October 2012.
With kind regards,
Dr Shahid Merali
Competing interests: No competing interests