Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Casualties In Civilians And Coalition Soldiers From Suicide Bombings In Iraq, 2003—10: A Descriptive Study., M Hicks, H Dardagan, P Bagnall, M Spagat, J Sloboda

Madelyn Hsiao-Rei Hicks

BACKGROUND:

Suicide bombs in Iraq are a major public health problem. We aimed to describe documented casualties from suicide bombs in Iraq during 2003-10 in Iraqi civilians and coalition soldiers.

METHODS:

In this descriptive study, we analysed and compared suicide bomb casualties in Iraq that were documented in two datasets covering March 20, 2003, to Dec 31, 2010--one reporting coalition-soldier deaths from suicide bombs, the other reporting deaths and injuries of Iraqi civilians from armed violence. We analysed deaths and injuries over time, by bomb subtype and victim demographics.

FINDINGS:

In 2003-10, 1003 documented suicide bomb events caused 19% (42,928 …

Violent Deaths Of Iraqi Civilians, 2003-2008: Analysis By Perpetrator, Weapon, Time, And Location., M Hicks, H Dardagan, G Guerrero Serdán, P Bagnall, J Sloboda, M Spagat

Madelyn Hsiao-Rei Hicks

No abstract provided.

Global Comparison Of Warring Groups In 2002-2007: Fatalities From Targeting Civilians Vs. Fighting Battles., M Hicks, U Lee, R Sundberg, M Spagat

Madelyn Hsiao-Rei Hicks

BACKGROUND:

Warring groups that compete to dominate a civilian population confront contending behavioral options: target civilians or battle the enemy. We aimed to describe degrees to which combatant groups concentrated lethal behavior into intentionally targeting civilians as opposed to engaging in battle with opponents in contemporary armed conflict.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:

We identified all 226 formally organized state and non-state groups (i.e. actors) that engaged in lethal armed conflict during 2002-2007: 43 state and 183 non-state. We summed civilians killed by an actor's intentional targeting with civilians and combatants killed in battles in which the actor was involved for total fatalities …

The Dirty War Index: A Public Health And Human Rights Tool For Examining And Monitoring Armed Conflict Outcomes., M Hicks, M Spagat

Madelyn Hsiao-Rei Hicks

War, a major public health problem, is a situation where the interests of public health, human rights, and humanitarian law intersect.

The DWI is a data-driven public health tool that identifies rates of particularly undesirable or prohibited, i.e., “dirty,” outcomes inflicted on populations during war (e.g., civilian death, child injury, or torture).

A DWI is calculated as: (Number of “dirty,” i.e., undesirable or prohibited cases/Total number of cases) × 100.

DWIs are designed for direct, easy translation of war's public health outcomes into the human rights, policy, and interdisciplinary work needed to address war's practice.

DWIs support monitoring, deterrence, and …