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April 15th war and hemodialysis patients in Sudan: a cross-sectional study

Malaz Hassan Dafaalla Idrees, Moez Mohammed Ibrahim Bashir, Balqees Abdeen Ahmed Mohamed, Amal Essam Ali Ahmed, Hamid Mohieldin Mohamed Abdalla, K. Shaaban

BMC Public Health, 2025

316 participants · 13 citations

Abstract

On April 15th, 2023, intense clashes involving heavy weapons and airstrikes occurred between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, leading to the displacement of almost 8.1 million people. The ongoing armed conflict in Sudan has led to a worsening humanitarian catastrophe, posing serious challenges to the country’s health-care system and even its collapse. Healthcare facilities have been severely affected, with barely one-third of hospitals operating in conflict zones. Hemodialysis patients are among the most affected by this war’s aftermath, which ranges from obvious dangers like violence-related injuries and deaths to more indirect effects like the suspension of access to preventive and curative medical care. This was a descriptive cross-sectional multicenter health facility-based study aiming to study the impact of the April 15 war on hemodialysis patients in Sudan. The study was conducted in five centers in four different states in Sudan, including Gezira State, Red Sea State, River Nile State, and Kassala State. The study included 316 participants. Data was collected using structured interviews guided by a questionnaire. The questionnaire encompassed five primary domains: demographic data, healthcare access (Levesque’s Conceptual Framework of Access), physical implications, psychological impact (Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale and Patient health questionnaire), and quality of life (Kidney…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 316 participants or records.

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