Hanan F. Abdul Rahim

Dr. Hanan Abdul Rahim is an Associate Professor and the Dean of the College of Health Sciences at Qatar University. She has a PhD in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine from the University of Oslo, Norway (2003); a MSc in Biology from Illinois State University, IL, USA (1994), and a BSc in Biology from Salem College, NC, USA (1992). Since joining Qatar University in 2008, Dr Abdul Rahim has assumed a number of academic administration positions. She was the founding Coordinator of the BSc in Public Health program (2012-2014) in the College of Arts and Sciences at Qatar University and one of the founding faculty members of Qatar’s first Master of Public Health (MPH) program (2015). Between 2008 and 2017, she was the Associate Director of the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) at Qatar University and the Head of the Department of Public Health between 2017 and 2019. Before moving to Qatar, Dr Abdul Rahim was at the Institute of Community and Public Health (ICPH) in Birzeit University, where she coordinated the Diploma in Primary Health Care and Master of Public Health programs. She is a member of the National Public Health Committee and the National Data Observatory Committee in Qatar. Regionally, she has provided training and consultation to a number of international health and development agencies, including UNFPA and EMRO/WHO.

 Dr Abdul Rahim teaches epidemiology and public health courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Her research interests are at the intersection of social science and public health, with a special interest in the social determinants of noncommunicable diseases and the health and wellbeing of women. She has participated in a number of QNRF-funded research studies and has authored a range of research and policy-oriented articles and reports in leading academic journals, including the Lancet.

Selected Publications

Abu-Raddad LJ, Chemaitelly H, Ayoub HH, Al Kanaani Z, Al Khal A, Al Kuwari E, Butt AA, Coyle P, Latif AN, Owen RC, Rahim HF. Characterizing the Qatar advanced-phase SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. medRxiv. 2020 Jan 1.

O'Hara L, Rahim HF, Shi Z. Gender and trust in government modify the association between mental health and stringency of social distancing related public health measures to reduce COVID-19: a global online survey. medRxiv. 2020 Jan 1.

Rahim HF, Ismail SI, Hassan A, Fadl T, Khaled SM, Shockley B, Nasrallah C, Qutteina Y, Elmaghraby E, Yasin H, Darwish D. Willingness to participate in genome testing: a survey of public attitudes from Qatar. Journal of Human Genetics. 2020 Jul 28:1-7.

Roof KA, James-Hawkins L, Rahim HF, Yount KM. Validation of three mental health scales among pregnant women in Qatar. Reproductive health. 2019 Dec 1;16(1):149.

James-Hawkins L, Shaltout E, Nur AA, Nasrallah C, Qutteina Y, Rahim HF, Hennink M, Yount KM. Human and economic resources for empowerment and pregnancy-related mental health in the Arab Middle East: a systematic review. Archives of Women's Mental Health. 2018 May 2:1-4.

Qutteina Y, Nasrallah C, James-Hawkins L, Nur AA, Yount KM, Hennink M, Rahim HF. Social resources and Arab women’s perinatal mental health: A systematic review. Women and Birth. 2017 Dec 1.

Khaled SM, Shockley B, Abdul Rahim HF. The effects of citizenship status on service utilization and general satisfaction with healthcare: a cross-cultural study. International Journal for Quality in Health Care 2016; doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzw131. 

Crandall A, Abdul Rahim HF, Yount KM. Validation of the General Self-Efficacy Scale Among Qatari Young Women. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 2015, 21 (12): 891-896. 

Abdul Rahim H, Sibai A, Khader Y, et al. Non-communicable Diseases in the Arab World. Lancet 2014, 383 (9914): 356 - 367.

Al-Thani A, Abdul-Rahim H, Alabsi E, Bsaisu H, Mumtaz GR, Abu-Raddad L. Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection among general population women in Qatar. Sex Transm Infect. Published Online First: [17 July 2013].

Mikki N, Abdul-Rahim HF, Shi Z, Holmboe-Ottesen G. Dietary habits of Palestinian adolescents in the three major governorates in the West Bank: a cross-sectional survey. Lancet. Published Online July 2 2010 (abstract).

Mikki N, Abdul-Rahim H, Shi Z, Holmboe-Ottesen G. Dietary habits of Palestinian adolescents and associated socio-demographic characteristics in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron governorates. Public Health Nutrition 2010, 13: 1419-1429.

Mikki N, Abdul-Rahim HF, Awartani F, Holmboe-Ottesen G. Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of stunting, underweight, and overweight among Palestinian school adolescents (13-15 years) in two major governorates in the West Bank. BMC Public Health 2009, 9:485.

Abdul-Rahim HF, Abu Rmeileh NME, Wick L. Caesarean section deliveries in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt): an analysis of the 2006 Palestinian Family Health Survey. Health Policy 93 (2009), pp. 151-156.

Abdul Rahim HF, Wick L, Halileh S, Hassan-Bitar S, Chekir H, Watt G, Khawaja M. Maternal and child health in the occupied Palestinian territory. Lancet 2009; 373:967-977.

Giacaman R, Wick Laura, Abdul-Rahim H and Wick Livia. The politics of childbirth in the context of conflict: policies or de facto practices. Health Policy 2005: 72: 129- 139.

Wick L, Mikki N, Giacaman R, Abdul-Rahim H. Childbirth in Palestine. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2005: 89: 174-178.

Giacaman R, Abdul-Rahim HF and Wick L. Health Sector Reform in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): Targeting the Forest or the Trees? Health Policy and Planning 2003: 18 (1): 59-67.

Abdul-Rahim HF, Holmboe-Ottesen G, Stene LCM, Husseini A, Giacaman R, Jervell J and Bjertness E. Obesity in a rural and an urban Palestinian West Bank population. Int J Obesity 2003: 27 (1): 140-146.

Abdul-Rahim HF, Abu-Rmeileh NME, Husseini A, Holmboe-Ottesen G, Jervell J and E Bjertness. Obesity and selected co-morbidities in an urban Palestinian population. International Journal of Obesity 2001; 25: 1736-1740.

Abdul-Rahim H, Husseini A, Bjertness E, Giacaman R, Gordon NH, and J Jervell. The metabolic syndrome in the West Bank population: an urban-rural comparison. Diabetes Care 2001; 24: 275-279.

Abdul-Rahim HF, Husseini A, Giacaman R, Jervell J and Bjertness E. Diabetes mellitus in an urban Palestinian population: prevalence and associated factors. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 2001; 7: 67-78.

Husseini A, Abdul-Rahim HF, Giacaman R, Jervell J and Bjertness E. Selected factors associated with diabetes mellitus in a rural Palestinian community. Med Sci Monit 2003; 9(5): CR181-185 (May 22 2003).

Stene LCM, Giacaman R, Abdul-Rahim HF, Husseini A, Norum KR and HolmboeOttesen G . Obesity and associated factors in a Palestinian West Bank village population. Eur J Clin Nutr 2001; 55: 805-811.

Husseini A, Abdul-Rahim H, Awartani F, Giacaman R, Jervell J, Bjertness E. The utility of a single glucometer measurement of fasting capillary blood glucose in the prevalence determination of diabetes mellitus in an urban adult Palestinian population. Scandanavian Journal of Clinical Laboratory Investigation 2000; 60: 457- 462.

Husseini A, Abdul-Rahim H, Awartani F, Giacaman R, Jervell J, Bjertness E. Type 2 diabetes Mellitus, impaired glucose tolerance and associated factors in a rural Palestinian village. Diabetic Medicine 2000; 17: 746-748.

Husseini A, Abdul-Rahim H, Awartani F, Jervell J, Bjertness E. Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus and Impaired Glucose Tolerance in a Rural Palestinian Population. Eastern MediterraneanHealth Journal 2000; 6: 1039-1045.

Stene LCM, Giacaman R, Abdul-Rahim H, Husseini A, Norum K, Holmboe-Ottesen G. Food consumption patterns in a Palestinian West Bank population. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999; 53: 953-8.