Effects of prolonged war and repression on a country's health status and medical services: some evidence from Iran 1979-90.

The decade following the Islamic revolution in Iran is surveyed from the point of view of the various ways in which the repressive policies of the new regime and, from September 1980, the war with Iraq affected health professionals, medical education and publishing, health services and living conditions. Sources consulted include publications from inside and outside the country, by apologists for and opponents of the regime, and a variety of commentators. Topics studied in more detail are the campaign against drug abuse, the cultural revolution in the universities, the country's leading English-language medical journal, wartime conditions, and the society in the aftermath of the conflict. As well as predating and outlasting the war, the unfavourable climate of repression is seen to have exacerbated its effects in many ways. The population has displayed considerable resilience in the face of overwhelming odds, but the overall picture cannot give much grounds for optimism with regard to either their physical or mental well-being in the future. Particular cause for concern is the profound damage and prolonged neglect sustained by the most basic preconditions for health and medical care.