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Pharmacist Ruaa Hussien successfully defended her Master’s thesis in Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Jordan, titled “Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Primary and Secondary Healthcare Services Utilization: A Retrospective National Study from Jordan.” The research, supervised by Prof. Eman Hammad and Dr. Rasha Alarbayat, analyzed data from 364,300 patients in the national ‘Hakeem’ database, comparing healthcare use during 2020–2021 to pre-pandemic years.

The study found a sharp drop in primary care use, with medication refills decreasing by 43%, while secondary care saw increases, including a 9.6% rise in outpatient visits and longer hospital stays. Surgeries fell by 35%, and disparities appeared across gender and age. The findings highlight the need for health policy reforms to maintain care continuity, especially for high-risk groups. Congratulations to Ruaa for earning her degree with distinction​