Project description:BackgroundHealth care is a basic human right, and Saudi Arabia affirms these rights for all its citizens.ObjectivesTo assess the knowledge of medical students regarding health rights in Saudi Arabia.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) from September 2015 through November 2015. A questionnaire written in English collected demographic data and included questions about reproductive health care and health rights of women and patients with cancer, senility, or special needs.ResultsOf the 267 participants, 184 (68.9%) were female, and 252 (94.4%) were Saudi. Regarding consent, 87 (32.6%) and 113 (42.3%) participants believed a female patient required the consent of a male guardian to receive medical treatment or surgery, respectively, in Saudi Arabia, and only 106 (39.7%) knew that a female patient could provide consent for a caesarean section. Sixty-six (24.7%) believed that abortion is never allowed in Islam. Only 93 (34.8%) were aware that acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients had health rights, about half (144, 53.9%) knew that cancer patients have a right to full information, and most (181, 67.8%) believed that a patient had the right to withhold health information from his/her family. Approximately half were aware that cancer patients have the right to free medical treatment (138, 51.7%) or that health rights applied to special needs patients (137, 51.3%) and senile patients (122, 45.7%).ConclusionsThe knowledge of KAU medical students regarding health rights of certain patient populations highlights the importance of health rights education in medical school.
Project description:In a country such as Saudi Arabia where gender equality-related challenges continue to be social issues, measuring the health empowerment of Saudi working women is critical in understanding the real picture of women empowerment in the country during this era of great transformation. Therefore, we conducted this research to evaluate psychometric properties of the Health Empowerment Scale Arabic version (HES-A) in measuring the health empowerment of Saudi working women. We surveyed a sample of 322 Saudi working women from June to August 2020 using an online survey constituting questions on demographic and work-related information and the HES-A. The computed values for the item-level content validity index of the 8 scale items were from .80 and 1.00, whereas the computed value of the scale-level content validity index by average method was .91. The principal component and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a unidimentional scale. The computation revealed an alpha of .92. Education, type of employment, years of working experience, and salary were identified as significant factors influencing the health empowerment. The HES-A exhibited adequate validity and internal consistency for use in measuring the health empowerment of Saudi women. The HES-A can expand the research agenda on health empowerment Arab women. Researchers and policymakers could use the HES-A in assessing the status of health empowerment of Arabic-speaking women, which could inform policies and interventions aimed at ensuring health empowered women in this part of the globe.
Project description:Saudi Arabia is witnessing a healthcare transformation to face the challenges of the increased burden of noncommunicable diseases and to maintain the quality of healthcare services. However, in Saudi Arabia, where low back and neck pain, depressive disorders, migraine, diabetes, and anxiety disorders cause the most disability, a broader way of integrative health approach is needed to foster healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages. In the presence of the advanced modern medicine healthcare system in Saudi Arabia, the traditional medicine healing system is being used by a substantial proportion of Saudis but like a shadow healthcare system. This phenomenon of using two healthcare systems reflects a need for an integrative healthcare system. Integrative medicine or approach is about bringing traditional, complementary, and modern medicine in a harmonized system of healthcare which can give a high return and save cost. The rationale behind integrative medicine is to include the best practices of both conventional and complementary therapy, uniting these practices into an integrative approach. Pain management, care of cancer patients, and behavior change are among the leading areas of integration models that should be included in healthcare transformation in Saudi Arabia. Investment in behavior change and well-being outside the boundaries of the healthcare system in the Saudi 2030 vision will have more impact on health and wellness of the Saudi citizen in the face of the epidemics of the lifestyle diseases. Models of integrative medicine during the healthcare transformation can be developed, evaluated, and replicated.
Project description:To measure expatriates' knowledge of health insurance benefits with respect to outpatient, inpatient, prescription drug, and dental services, and to link this knowledge to sociodemographic and employment characteristic. Methods: Cross-sectional, face-to-face interviews were conducted from March 2015 to February 2016 with a stratified random sample of 3,398 male insured expatriate workers in the private sector of Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Descriptive analysis, one-way ANOVA, and linear regression were used to interpret data. Data on knowledge of health insurance benefits was compiled by adding the scores of the 4 service category items (outpatient, inpatient, prescription drug, and dental services) to those of the 5 objective knowledge items on copayments. Results: More than 87% of the participants reported knowledge on their health insurance benefits coverage for outpatient, 62% for the inpatient, 86% for the prescription drug and 62% for the dental services. However, 7.5% knew the correct copayments for general practitioner, 64% for the outpatient (inclusive), 13% for the inpatient visits, 15% for the prescription drugs and 9.6% for the dental care. Most personal and job characteristics had associations with knowledge measures. A total of 55% of the overall knowledge variance was explained by the independent variables (R2=0.55), suggesting that other factors also influence knowledge. Conclusion: Expatriates' knowledge of their health insurance benefits is very limited, which indicates the importance of developing a policy for increasing this knowledge among expatriates in Saudi Arabia.
Project description:The present study targeted health care workers (HCWs) in Governmental Hospitals and Primary Health Care Centers in Abha City, southwestern Saudi Arabia. An anonymous self-report questionnaire was used to assess tobacco use and the reasons for smoking. The present study included 736 HCWs. The overall prevalence of tobacco use amounted to 26.3% (14.8% current and 11.5% former users). In a binary logistic regression analysis, males were found significantly more prone to smoke compared to females (aOR = 3.081, 95% CI: 2.004-4.739). Similarly, parental history of tobacco use was found to be a significant risk factor (aOR = 1.540, 95% CI: 1.040-2.278). Among current users, 89.9% were interested in quitting and 66.1% tried before to quit. The prevalence of smoking among HCWs in the present study, besides being a public health problem, represents a potential barrier in involving this group as a first line for tobacco control. There is a need for a national intervention programme in the country in a tailored manner for HCWs to control tobacco use parallel to the running national program for public. These interventions should begin early in basic medical education and to be applied continually during one's medical career.
Project description:To assess the basic knowledge on obstetric brachial plexus injury among obstetricians, pediatricians, and physio-/occupational therapists in major hospitals in Riyadh. We aimed to identify if inadequate knowledge is the reason behind delayed referrals to the Hand Clinic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted at 5 major hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between June 2015 and August 2015. A questionnaire of 6 questions (multiple choice closed-ended questions) was given to obstetricians, pediatricians, and physio-/occupational therapists' in these selected hospitals. The total score out of 6 was categorized as good, adequate, and inadequate knowledge if the score is 5-6, 3-4, and less than 3; respectively. The data were analyzed with Chi-square, fisher exact, Analysis of Variance, and Post-hoc tests where appropriate. Results: A total of 323 subjects participated in the study. For positions, the best mean score (for all 6 questions) was scored by consultants and the score was only 2.95 out of 6. For hospitals, Hospital IV scored the best mean score (2.99). The mean scores were not significantly different between different specialties. Conclusion: Inadequate knowledge seems to be a reason for delayed referrals of cases of obstetric brachial plexus injury to Hand Clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Project description:A microarray experimental design with dye balancing was adopted to compare the gene expression profiles of the following experimental groups; Field collected Makkah and Jeddah strains unexposed to any insecticide Fully insecticide susceptible New Orleans and Rockefeller laboratory strains. Laboratory Jeddah strain (F5) without exposure to insecticides Laboratory Jeddah strains selected for deltamethrin resistance (F5). For each comparison (field, lab selected or unselected vs susceptible), three biological replicates were used. The two susceptible strains, New Orleans and Rockefeller served as reference.
Project description:BackgroundInsufficient physical activity (PA) was estimated to cause 4.8% of deaths and 2.6% of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to noncommunicable diseases in Saudi Arabia in 2019. While Saudi Arabia is already achieving great improvements, we predict the health and economic burden of insufficient PA up to 2040 to present a case for policy makers to invest more in the uptake of PA.MethodsUsing a population health model to estimate avoidable health loss, we identified four causes of health loss related to low PA (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer) and estimated the deaths and DALYs from these causes. We projected the expected disease burden until 2040 under alternative assumptions about future PA levels and trends by using three health scenarios: baseline (no change in 2019 PA levels), intervention (81% of the population achieving sufficient PA levels), and ideal (65% of population: moderate PA, 30%: high PA, and 5%: inactive). We applied an "intrinsic value" approach to estimate the economic impact of each scenario.ResultsOverall, we estimate that between 2023 and 2040, about 80,000 to 110,000 deaths from all causes and 2.0 million to 2.9 million DALYs could be avoided by increasing PA levels in Saudi Arabia. The average annual economic loss from insufficient PA is valued at 0.49% to 0.68% of the current gross domestic product, with an average of US$5.4 billion to US$7.6 billion annually till 2040. The most avoidable disease burden and economic losses are expected among males and because of ischemic heart disease.ConclusionsThis study highlights that low PA levels will have considerable health and economic impacts in Saudi Arabia if people remain inactive and do not start following interventions. There is an urgent need to develop innovative programs and policies to encourage PA among all age and sex groups.
Project description:Background:Violence against health-care workers (HCWs) showed increasing worldwide concern. No previous studies addressed violence against HCWs in the Northern region, Saudi Arabia. Objectives:To determine the prevalence of violence against HCWs in public hospitals and primary health-care centers in Arar city, KSA, and to identify its associated factors. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted on 352 HCWs in the Ministry of Health (MOH) facilities in Arar city from 1st October to 31st December 2018. Consented HCWs completed a structured self-administered questionnaire which was modified from the WHO questionnaire for violence. Results:Out of 352 health-care workers, 171 (48.6%) reported exposure to violence during work in the past year. The verbal violence was the most common form experienced (83%). Physicians were the main exposed group (59%). Being non-Saudi HCWs, older with longer duration of experience, working in hospitals, working in the emergency room, and working in evening or night shifts were significantly associated with more exposure to violence. The unmet demand for the patient and deficient staff number were the leading reasons for aggression. Only 16.4% of assaulted HCWs reported the violent acts to the higher health affairs authority with the most frequent reasons for nonreporting were their perception that it was useless and their fear of negative consequences. Conclusions:Violence against HCWs in Arar city, KSA, is a prevalent problem. Improving health security system and increasing staffing and their training on proper dealing with violence are highly recommended. Also, enforcing rules and regulations is an important demand to control and prevent violence against HCWs.