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Executive Summary
Lichen Sclerosus (LS) is a chronic dermatologic condition that mainly affects the genital region, and treatment is mainly with topical medications. However, the disease can have serious complications (including cancer) with profound consequences on the patient’s health, sexual and social life. This part of the project aims to establish a first-of-its-kind specialized clinic (in the largest health care institute in Iraq) for the optimal management of LS and reduction of its complications. Furthermore, this clinic will contribute to the medical community and the medical literature. The project will target a population of 50 patients over a period of 13 months divided into three phases: Phase-1 will focus on securing funds and creating the clinic space, phase-2 will invest in training the medical team, patient enrolment-education and patient management, and phase-3 will focus on patients’ follow-up and project evaluation. The project evaluation will run along all three stages (for analysis and stakeholders’ engagement), which will assess: The reduction in patient expenditure and overall cost on the health care system; the level of activity-success of the clinic; and the possibility of project replication in Iraq and other countries (with similar settings). The main obstacles are: Funding issues; political-financial corruption; and Iraqi society religious-social beliefs that can interfere with female patients’ enrollment. However, effective management of each problem will be deployed. In addition, benefits (especially cost reduction in the long term) will justify such a promising project. By creating an active-successful clinic and using a professional team, the project will: Increase patient-public awareness of LS; effectively treat patients; reduce complications; and improve the patient's quality of life. Collectively, in the long term, this will reduce patient expenditure and the overall cost of the health care system.
Keywords: Lichen Sclerosus, Ano-genital, females, Health Care Disciplines, Specialized Clinic.