What is it about?
56 physicians and nurses working under extreme conditions in Gaza, including hospital bombings and forced workplace displacement, responded to an online survey between December 2023 and January 2024. 78% reported the killing of a close colleague and 41% the killing of a family member at that point. Participants reported high levels of secondary traumatic stress (37%) and burnout (37%), which co-occurred with high compassion satisfaction (49%) despite working under the existential threat of genocide.
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Why is it important?
This is the second scientific manuscript which recognizes genocide as a distinct determinant of psychological health and well-being in Gaza. Genocide scholars have increasingly recognized the events in Gaza as fitting the definition of genocide, and multiple groups of health services researchers are conducting research with the same understanding. From past research on the health effects of trauma, we know that the specific traumatic event matters, and so it is important to understand these findings in their specific context. The research team includes multiple researchers currently or previously working in Gaza.
Perspectives
Dr. Omar R. AlNajjar, one of the leaders in data collection said the following: “Collecting data was extremely challenging. I would steal moments in the middle of the relentless workload to persuade colleagues to fill out the questionnaire, but many were either too exhausted or too afraid, especially after Al-Awda Hospital was raided and its director, Dr. Ahmed Mahna, was arrested at that time.” Dr. Mohanad Qudaih, who co-coordinated the research effort, described ongoing threats: "Many health facilities, including those where we collected this data, have been rendered non-functional. We have a moral duty to our colleagues, who continue to face targeted attacks, forced starvation, and displacement.”
Karim Sariahmed
Assistant Professor
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Displacement, personal loss, and psychological strain among physicians and nurses working in Gaza, 2023–2024, PLOS Global Public Health, September 2025, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005094.
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