• ​Other lifestyles risk factors

In 2016, three PHCC wellness centers opened with the vision of empowering people to make positive lifestyle choices to ​​achieve balance in physical, mental and emotional health and to support people to live longer, healthier, productive lives.

To achieve the wellness vision, a new range of preventative wellness services will be provided to adults by a multidisciplinary team including physicians, nurses,health coaches and exercise physiologists in a tranquil environment, with both swimming pool and full gymnasium facilities.

Wellness services will operate an evidence-based model, linking clinical services to wellness services. To support the sustainability of these services, consideration must be given to wellness in the new national Health Insurance provision. It will be used for prevention-related activities, including promoting a healthy lifestyle, smoking cessation exercises prescription and dietary advice with the aim of improving the health of patients with chronic conditions.

The Qatar Genome Project has successfully sequenced 3,000 genomes, a significant proportion of the population.

Phase Two of the project is due to commence shortly and aims to see a further 7,000 genomes sequenced.

This large volume of raw data presents enormous opportunities for the research community in Qatar.

The high-risk breast and ovarian cancer-screening clinic in Qatar were established in March 2013, as a multidisciplinary clinic. It is the first clinic of its kind in the region dedicated exclusively to providing genetic counseling and risk management for women at high risk. Identifying individuals at increased risk for hereditary cancer leads to early detection and prevention opportunities, with the ability to reduce both cancer incidence and mortality.

Premarital screening is already mandatory for Qataris. There is potentially scope to expand this screening to identify those at high risk of certain cancers or other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Services will be expanded to include gastrointestinal hereditary diseases and other diseases with links to cancer expanding on existing infrastructure to develop a dedicated medical cancer genetic department. It will be important to work collaboratively to establish this capability, recognizing the significant investment made across Qatar in infrastructure related to genetic testing sequencing and research.

The major cause of cervical cancer is infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV). The strains of HPV which have been proven to cause cancer can be vaccinated against. In many countries where cervical cancer rates are higher, a vaccination program has been adopted for preadolescent children. Although the incidence of cervical cancer in Qatar is low, it could be reduced further with the uptake of this vaccine. Therefore, the HPV vaccine will continue to be made available to those families who wish to vaccinate their children.