What is your professional background?
I’m from Aden in the south of Yemen, and I am currently a pediatrician and head of pediatrics at the Aden German International Hospital, a large private hospital in the south of Yemen. I’m interested in working as a pediatrician because children are the population that needs the most protection.
What challenges do you face in your daily work?
There has been a war in Yemen for five years. Besides that, we are a developing country, and as a result, there are many endemic diseases here. We have malaria, dengue fever, and chikungunya among others.
Now the biggest challenge we’re facing is COVID-19 because there is no preparation here. There is no good public health infrastructure because of the political and military environment. Additionally, there is a workforce shortage and personal protective equipment (PPE) is not available. It is expected that there may be more than 8 million Yemeni affected.
What are some instances where you’ve relied on UpToDate?
I often have challenges in my work as a pediatrician. There are often many complicated or complex cases that need to be reviewed in some medical resources. In any case like that, I’ll open UpToDate to see all the information I need and see what the most up-to-date guidelines are. At home, I read UpToDate for four to eight hours daily to see everything I need and what the new, updated guidelines are.
UpToDate has been very useful in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. I’m learning everything about this novel virus from UpToDate. UpToDate has been essential for treating COVID-19 in children.
UpToDate is the most trusted resource among professionals. Everything is updated regularly.
How do you use UpToDate in your practice?
Generally, I’m ready for the cases I see every day. There are many cases of malaria, dengue, and chikungunya; these are all common infections. I also spend half my time in the neonate department with incubators for treating neonates. We see a lot of neonatal sepsis and jaundice. Before I go to the clinic, I will sometimes have a chance to check UpToDate graphics and any UpToDate content I can open offline. When I get to check UpToDate, it is really a benefit for me.