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Publications

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Reports 

• Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) (2022). Patient involvement in the development, regulation and safe use of medicines: Report of the CIOMS Working Group XI. https://doi. org/10.56759/iiew8982​Book

Books

• Arawi,T. (2022). 77 Days with Ru​​mi. Dar Nelson, Beirut, Lebanon​

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A 2nd edition of “Towards a Post-Flexnerian Revolution: Graduating the Virtuous Physician” by Dr. Thalia Arawi is under print. The first edition was released in April 2021. 

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Peer-reviewed Articles and Chapters 

• Al-Hussaini, M., Mansour, A. H., Morreim, H., Zawati, M. H., Arawi, T. A., eds. (2022). Bioethics Amidst The COVID-19 Pandemic. Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA. doi: 10.3389/978-2-88974-078-9 • Buergi, B.R., Arawi, T., Asif, F. et al. Calling for Unity, Solidarity, Continuity, and Access-Oriented Action in Times of W​ar. Pharm Med 36, 147–151 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40290-022-00431-1

• Kobeissi, E., Abdul-Sater, Z., Farhat, T., & Abu-Sittah, G. (2022). Challenges of conducting research on emergency response and health services provided during conflict in LMICs – case of Lebanon, Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 38:3, 224-232, DOI: 10.1080/13623699.2022.2103042 

• Voo TC, Smith MJ, Mastroleo I, Dawson A, WHO Ethics & COVID-19 Working Group. COVID-19 vaccination certificates and lifting public health and social measures: ethical considerations. East Mediterr Health J. 2022;28(6):454-458. http://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.22.023 

• AMA Journal of Ethics Special Issue: Bioethics in Conflict Zones: Full Issue • Arawi, T. & Abou Sittah, G. (2022). Bioethics in Conflict Zones, AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(6):E455-456. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2022.455. 

• Arawi,T., Abu Sittah, G. Hassan,B. (2022). Everyone Is Harmed When Clinicians Aren’t Prepared, AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(6):E489-494. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2022.489.

• Kouatly, I., Nizam, M., Arawi, T., and Bard, L., Moral and Professional Values of Nurses in Lebanon, J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52 (9): 439-437. 

• Hajjar, M. S., & Abu-Sittah, G. S. (2021). The multidimensional burden of COVID-19 on Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Journal of global health, 11, 05003. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.11.05003 

• Arawi, T., Hatab, T., Mikati, D. (2020). COVID-19 and Refugees’ Status of Permanent “Out-of-Placeness”: A Necropolitical Neoliberal Construct. 10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_222-1.

 • Smith, M. J., Ahmad, A., Arawi, T., Dawson, A., Emanuel, E. J., Garani-Papadatos, T., Ghimire, P., Iliyasu, Z., Lei, R., Mastroleo, I., Mathur, R., Okeibunor, J., Parker, M., Saenz, C., Thomé, B., Upshur, R., & Voo, T. C. (2021). Top five ethical lessons of COVID-19 that the world must learn. Wellcome open research, 6, 17. https://doi. org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16568.1

• Abu-Odah, Hammoda & Mikati, Diana & Arawi, PhD, Thalia. (2021). Deconstructing Palliative Care in Areas of Armed Conflict: Needs, Challenges, and Concerns. 10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_225-1.

• Martin, S., & Arawi, T. (2021). Ensure Palestinians have access to COVID-19 vaccines. Lancet (London, England), 397(10276), 791–792. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00190-2 

• Al-Hussaini, M., Mansour, A. H., Arawi, T. A., Zawati, M. H., & Morreim, H. (2021). Editorial: Bioethics Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in medicine, 8, 778146. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.778146 

• Arawi T., Hassan B. (2020) Necroethics: An Emerging Ethics in Times of Pandemics Focusing on the Elderly. In: Laher I. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319- 74365-3_210-1

 • Sibai, A. M., Arawi, T., Al Faisal, W., Makhoul, J., Hussain, H. Y., Haddad, S., & Rizk, A. (2021). Ethics Reporting Practices in Aging Research From the Arab Region. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 40(1), 105–109. https://doi. org/10.1177/0733464819886453

Podcasts: 

• Hoff, T. (Host). (2022, January, 20). “Chronic Emergency and the Limits of Peace-Time Bioethics” with Dr. Thalia Arawi. In Ethics Talk [Audio Podcast]. AMA Journal of Ethics. Retrieved from https://journalofethics. ama-assn.org/podcast/ethics-talk-chronic-emergency-and-limits-peace-time-bioethics

• Hoff, T. (Host). (2022, March, 15). Author Interview with Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah: “Everyone Is Harmed When Clinicians Aren’t Prepared”. In Ethics Talk [Audio Podcast]. AMA Journal of Ethics. Retrieved from https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/podcast/author-interview-everyone-harmed-when-clinicians-arent-prepared ​

 

AMA Journal of Ethics Special Issue: Bioethics in Conflict Zones 

​​Dr. Thalia Arawi, along with Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, were invited to edit a special issue of the American Medical Association (AMA) Journal of Ethics on the topic of Bioethics in Conflict Zones. The journal includes sections about case and commentaries, medical education, health law, original research, medicine and society, and podcasts.

Issue synopsis:

 “Wars defined as a temporal event with a start and a finish are a thing of the past. Instead, they have become chapters in prolonged and protracted conflicts that ebb and flow yet trap the hostage populations for decades, consuming the lives of generations and shaping their health needs and the provision of health care. What started as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 is now a mere chapter in a conflict that has lasted for over 4 decades. The Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s was followed by the First Gulf War, sanctions against Iran and Iraq in the 1990s, the second Gulf War, and a litany of different levels of ongoing violence. Even in Central America, the civil wars of the 1980s and 1990s were followed by gang wars in El Salvador and Guatemala that claim lives and similarly lead to forced migration. Health professionals working in these conflict zones—as clinicians, humanitarian actors, or policy makers—are faced with making ethically challenging decisions as they negotiate with different political actors and navigate competing yet equally pressing health needs. “Chronic emergencies” in places like the Gaza Strip or Yemen are no longer a contradiction in terms but a fair description of recurring wars that force health professionals to continuously divert limited resources from long-term capacity building to meeting immediate needs created by the latest military onslaught—to the long-term detriment of any health system infrastructure. In this issue of the AMA Journal of Ethics, ethics and health policy experts and clinicians working in protracted conflict zones share their experiences of battling to offer health care in ethical, humanitarian ways.

Open letters

• Open letter to Syndicate of Physicians’ President Dr. Sharaf Abu Sharaf and physicians in Lebanon about integrity and the availability of medications, healthcare services and supplies amidst the deteriorating economic crisis (August 31, 2021) 

• Open letter to pharmacists of Lebanon about accountability and the ethics of the practice of pharmacies and provision of medications amidst the economic crisis. (July 2, 2021)

 • Open letter to Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Hassan regarding the effectiveness of the implementation of COVID-19 safety measures (January 10, 2021)

 • Open letter to Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Hassan regarding violations of the COVID-19 precautionary measures (January 3, 2021) 

COVID-19 related statements:

World Health Organization. COVID-19 and mandatory vaccination: Ethical considerations. 30 May 2022. Available at WHO/2019-nCoV/Policy_brief/Mandatory_vaccination/2022.1
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• World Health Organization. (2021). COVID-19 and mandatory vaccination: ethical considerations and caveats: policy brief, 13 April 2021

. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/340841. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO 

• World Health Organization. (2021).COVID-19 immunization in refugees and migrants: principles and key considerations: interim guidance, 31 August 2021. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/344793. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO 

 • World Emergency COVID19 Pandemic Ethics (WeCope) Committee (10 May 2021). Ethical considerations on COV​ID-19 immunization and vaccines. Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 31(4): 206-218. https://www.eubios.info/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/WecopeStatementvaccine.129201717.pdf 

• World Emergency COVID19 Pandemic Ethics (WeCope) Committee (31 March 2021). Statement on the Implications of COVID-19 for Education. https://www.eubios.info/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Wecope_Education_Report.9363349.pdf

 • World Emergency COVID19 Pandemic Ethics (WeCope) Committee (22 January 2021). Statement on Ethical Values and Principles for Healing Society in Light of the COVID-19 Crisis. https://www.eubios.info/yahoo_site_ admin/assets/docs/WeCopeStatementHealingValues.20160152.pdfPeer-reviewed Articles and Chapters

  • Arawi, T. (2020). Bioethical Dilemmas in Conflict Zones: An Ethicist's Perspective Based on Lessons Learned from Gaza. Seminars in Nephrology. (40)4.
  • Al-Habbal, K., Arawi T. (2020). Physicians' empathy levels in a primary care setting: perceptions of patients and their physicians, a qualitative study. Family Practice.      https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmaa073.
  • Hassan B. & Arawi T. (2020). The Care for Non-COVID-19 Patients: A Matter of Choice or Moral Obligation? Frontiers in Medicine. (7), DOI:10.3389/fmed.2020.564038.  
  • Hassan B. & Arawi T. (2020). Necroethics: an emerging ethics in time of pandemics focusing on the elderly. In: Laher I. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World, Springer. 10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_210-1.
  • Mansour, R., Ammar, K. Al-Tabba, A., Arawi, T. Mansour, A. & Al-Hussaini, M. (2020). Disclosure of medical errors: physicians' knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) in an oncology center. BMC Medical Ethics. 21. 10.1186/s12910-020-00513-2.
  • Zgheib N.K., Dimassi Z., Arawi T., Badr K.F., Sabra R. (2020). Effect of Targeted Curricular Reform on the Learning Environment, Student Empathy, and Hidden Curriculum in a Medical School: A 7-Year Longitudinal Study. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development. DOI: 10.1177/2382120520953106.
  • Arawi T. (2020) Deconstructing the Challenges of Doing Research in Conflict Zones and Areas of Protracted Conflict: The Ecology of Life in Gaza. In: Laher I. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_220-1
  • Arawi T., Abu-Sitteh G. (2020) War as an Endemic Disease: Towards a New Paradigm Shift. In: Laher I. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_191-1
  • Arawi, T. (2020) A Post-Flexnerian Revolution: Graduating the Virtuous Physician. AUB Press, Beirut.
  • Arawi T., Halabi S. (2020) Humanitarian Medicine and Moral Injury: An inevitable aftermath in the humanitarian rebellion. In: Laher I. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham.

    Abdul-Sater Z, Menassa M, El Achi N, Abdul-Khalek RA, Abu-Sittah G, Mukherji D. (2020) Strengthening capacity for cancer research in conflict settings: key informant insights from the Middle East. Ecancermedicalscience.14:1153. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1153. PMID: 33574898; PMCID: PMC7864685.

    Abu Sitta, G., Maluf, R.Dabous, H.,Hakim, H&Chalhoub, R.( 2020 ).Delayed Periorbital Reconstruction After War Injuries .The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. PMID: 32282680 DOI: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000006410

    Abu-Sittah, Ghassan (2020) The Virus, the Settler, and the Siege: Gaza in the Age of Corona, Journal of Palestine Studies, 49:4, 65-76, DOI: 10.1525/jps.2020.49.4.65

·         Abu-Sittah, Ghassan. (2019). The Political Capital of War Wounds. 10.18574/nyu/9781479875962.003.0007.


Opinion Pieces

 

·         Thalia Arawi, How I turned from a mother of 8 to an anti-natalist, Beirut Today, March 3, 2020. https://beirut-today.com/2020/03/03/from-mother-to-moral-anti-natalist/

Open Letters

  • Open Letter to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO and Dr. Ahmad El Mandhari, Director General, WHO-EMRO.
  • Open letter to Syndicate of Physicians and Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon regarding Patient Sexual Harassment Case (January 29, 2020)
  • Open letter to Head of the Syndicate of Physicians in Lebanon regarding Ella Tannous Case (February 27, 2020

 

COVID-19 Related Statements[

World Emergency COVID19 Pandemic Ethics (WeCope) Committee

  • Statement on Wearing Masks and Face Covers as Social Responsibility during COVID-19 pandemic (April 23, 2020)            
  • Statement on Ethical Triage Guidelines for COVID-19 (May 31, 2020)
  • A Call to Cease the Use of War Metaphors in the COVID-19 pandemic (June 14, 2020)
  • Statement on individual autonomy and social responsibility within a public health emergency (July 18, 2020)   
  • Statement on state and governance in COVID-19 pandemic(August 18, 2020)
  • Statement on Environmental Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic (September 13, 2020; and background paper) 

     

    WHO COVID-19 Ethics Working Group
  • Ethics & COVID-19 – Restrictive Measures and Physical Distancing Policy Brief (April 29, 2020).
  • Key criteria for the ethical acceptability of COVID-19 human challenge studies, WHO Working Group for Guidance on Human Challenge Studies in COVID-19 (May 3, 2020.)
  • Ethics and COVID-19: resource allocation and priority-setting, 2020
  • Ethical standards for research during public health emergencies: Distilling existing guidance to support COVID-19 R&D (29 March 2020)
  • Guidance Document for RECs During Emergencies, 2020

     

    GE2P2 Global Foundation
  • An Informed Choice/Consent/Right-To-Refuse Imperative :: Statement On Immunization Involving Covid-19 Vaccines Under Emergency Use Authorization/Listing [Eua/L]



  Arawi, T. “No one can maim their spirit" (April 14, 2019) Beirut Today, http://beirut-today.com/2019/04/14/palestine-broken-chair/

 Sibai, A. M., Arawi, T., Al Faisal, W., Makhoul, J., Hussain, H. Y., Haddad, S., & Rizk, A. (2019). Ethics Reporting Practices in Aging Research From the Arab Region. Journal of Applied Gerontology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464819886453

 Arawi T, Yunis K, Lakkis F, Founouni ZN. The pivotal role of clinical ethics consults in critical clinical decision making in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit within an Arab culture. J Pediatr Neonat Individual Med. 2019;8(2):e080201. doi: 10.7363/080201.

  Musharrafieh, Umayya & Nammani, Raji & Badaoui, Joy & Baddour, Khalil & Issa, Nancy & Youssef, Soundos & Hadaie, Bashar & Fares, Jawad & Arawi, PhD, Thalia. (2019). Barriers to medical error disclosure at a tertiary care hospital in Lebanon: physicians versus nurses. 1-6. 10.15761/HEC.1000152.

  Arawi T., Mikati D., Abu Sittah G.S. (2019) The Lures of the Scalpel : Deconstructing the Social Construction of Beauty. Book Chapter. Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World, Springer.

  Arawi, T., Chebaro, M., Hoss, W. (2019) The Journey of the Nafs and the Muslim Physician: The Plasticity of Medicine  Book Chapter. Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World, Springer.

 Arawi T. (2019) Personalized Medicine via Narrative : Mental Health, Culture, and the Encapsulated Self of a Middle Eastern Woman. Book Chapter. Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World, Springer.

Abu-Sittah, G., Arawi T. (2019) Towards a New Paradigm Shift: War as an Endemic Disease. Book Chapter. Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World, Springer.

 Arawi T. (2019) Islam, the Pursuit of Knowledge, and the Ethics of Research. Book Chapter.
Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World, Springer.

Arawi T., Halabi S., Founouni, F. (2019) Social Construction of Arab Masculinity and its Effects on Mental Health. Book Chapter. Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World, pp.1-11, Springer.​

BIOETHICS PROJECTS 

Contemporary Issues in Bioethics Series The Salim El Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism Program proudly presents the “Contemporary Issues in Bioethics Series” which is the product of third year medical students’ work as part of their Physicians, Patients, and Society 3 course. Some of the best works presented by students over the past few years are selected to be shared with the public via online platforms to spread awareness and educate the public of various critical bioethics issues in the form of informational short documentaries.

projects.PNGResearch

• Pediatric Palliative Care: A Pediatrician’s Perspective, Alaa Ousta and Thalia Arawi (PI) 

• Ethics and Plastic Surgery, Bachar Chaya and Thalia Arawi (PI) 

• From Parents to Physicians: What Matters Most in the Care of Children with Cancer?, Farah Yassine and Thalia Arawi (PI)

• Factors Contributing to Moral Erosion among Medical Students: A Qualitative Study, Ramez Kouzy, Khalil Baddour, Thalia Arawi (PI)

• Religion in the Management of Patient Disorders of Sexual Development in Lebanon, Sarah Abou Alaiwi, Mohammad Ali Cheaito, Rawan Safa, Thalia Arawi (PI) 

• The Factors Affecting the Request for a Clinical Ethics Consultation at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, Mira Itani, Clara El Nakib, Edwyn Assaf, Hana Mansour, Thalia Arawi (PI), Batoul Dekmak 

• Anonymous Feedback in the Spotlight of at AUBFM, Thalia Arawi (PI), Ramzi Sabra (CoPI), Hiba Ghandour

• Pivotal role of clinical ethics consults in critical clinical decision making the neonatal intensive care unit within an Arab Culture*, Thalia Arawi (PI), Khalid Yunis (CoPI) , Farah Lakkis , Zeid N. Founouni

Publications

• Arawi, T. & Charafeddine ,L, (2018). When physician and clinical ethicist collaborate for better patient care: A Middle Eastern perspective. Developing World Bioethics

. • Baalbaki, R., & Arawi, T. (Eds.). (2018). English-Arabic Bioethics Dictionary. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar El-Ilm Lil Malayin. 

• Osman H, Jurdi KE, Sabra R, Arawi T, Respecting patient choices: using the ‘Go Wish’ cards as a teaching tool. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care Published Online First: 20 June 2017. doi: 10.1136/ bmjspcare-2017-001342 

• Arawi Thalia, Mikati Diana, Bioethicsing: medical students engaged in bioethics. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics. 2017. 26, 348–353 doi: 10.1017/S0963180116000955


BIOETHICS PROJECTS

Of the bioethics projects created by med 3 students for their PPS-3 course, eight different groups presented their documentary videos and edutainment games, and 10 groups got to display their posters at the 2nd Bioethics Multimedia Festival.

Documentaries 1) ScoopMEDia: Medicine, Media, and Ethics; Adnan El Achkar, Margueritta El Asmar, Samer El Hayek, Christopher El Mouhayyar 2) The Last Resort Racha Abi Melhem, Ahmad Al Razim, Tarek Al Ariss, Hayat Al Tabosh 3) Placebos as Treatment Hussam Aridi, Omar Baba, Eugenie Atallah, Nour Beydoun

Edutainment Games 1) Vaccination: A Choice or an Obligation? Ahmad Ammous, Marwa Baalbaki, Sara Assaf, Amer Bechnak 2) Avoid the Lawsuit Karl Asmar, Andrew Barakat, Jacqueline Atallah, Bassel Bou Dargham 3) The Little Fighter Savo Bou Zein Eddine, Alia Dani, Joseph Cheib, Jad El Abiad 4) The Ideal Physician Joseph Elias, Katia Christina Genadry, Johny Fares, Ryan Ghusayni 5) The Right to Know Vanessa Bou Sleiman, Helene Dabbous, Antoine Chami, Lina Deghayli

Posters 1) Vaccination: A Choice or an Obligation? Ahmad Ammous, Marwa Baalbaki, Sara Assaf, Amer Bechnak 2) The Syrian Refugee Crisis Patrick Bou Samra, Rawad Chalhoub, Laudy Chehade, Jana Dbaibou 3) ScoopMEDia: Medicine, Media, and Ethics Adnan El Achkar, Margueritta El Asmar, Samer El Hayek, Christopher El Mouhayyar 4) Trick or Treat: The Pharma Mask Natasha Habr, Noor Halawi, Issa Hindi, Aya Itani 5) The Last Resort Racha Abi Melhem, Ahmad Al Razim, Tarek Al Ariss, Hayat Al Tabosh 6) Placebos as Treatment Husam Aridi, Eugenie Atallah, Omar Baba, Nour Beydoun 7) The Right to Know Vanessa Bou Sleiman, Helene Dabbous, Antoine Chami, Lina Deghayli 8) Egg Donation or Egg-sploitation? Karim Hajjar, Kamil Hanna, Mohammad Hosni, Hoda Jaffal 9) Consanguineous Marriage Nisrine Kawa, Mohamad Karim Koleilat, Rami Naaman, Farah Nassour 10) The Game of Life Barouyr Ajemian, Layala Al Mahmasani, Loay Al Rojolah, Fatima Allaw​

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• Altawil, Z. and Arawi, T. (2015), Uterine Transplantation: Ethical Considerations within Middle Eastern Perspectives. Developing World Bioethics. doi: 10.1111/dewb.12085 A member of 2013’s first prize winning group in the Bioethics Documentary Award (part of the PPS course for third year medical students), Zaid Al-Tawil pursued the topic of the project “Uterine Transplant: Promising yet controversial” and presented a Grand Round under the same title in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Grand Round, which was held on February 12, 2014 in SB101. After graduating, Dr. Al Tawil worked with Dr. Thalia Arawi extensively and ended up publishing “Uterine Transplantation: Ethical Considerations within Middle Eastern Perspectives.” Congratulations Dr. Zaid Tawil! 

• Arawi T. and Berri, N. (2015) Einstein Revisited- Medicine’s New Formula: M=EC2 . Mededpublish. DOI: 10.15694/mep.2015.006.0003 Nasma Berri, Research Assistant at SHBPP published with Dr. Thalia Arawi an article that discusses the implementation of the “Physicians, Patients and Society 2” course in a curriculum that can provide future physicians with the tools to become healers in the art of medicine and not just practitioners in i​


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