scholarly journals Self-Illusion and Medical Expertise in the Era of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Claessens ◽  
Olivia Keita-Perse ◽  
Frédéric Berthier ◽  
Jocelyn Raude ◽  
Gilles Chironi ◽  
...  

Abstract The Dunning-Kruger premise assumes that unqualified people are unaware of their limited skills. We tested this hypothesis in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this cross-sectional study, 2487 participants had to self-estimate their knowledge about COVID-19 in a questionnaire on the topic. Poor performers were more likely to use mass media and social networks as sources of information and had lower levels of education. The mean self-assessment (SD) was 6.88 (2.06) and was not linked to actual level of knowledge. This observation should prompt regulatory agencies and media to apply rules that limit dissemination of “infodemics” during global health crises.

Author(s):  
Mustafa Alkhader ◽  
Rami Saadeh

Abstract Objectives  The diagnosis and treatment of patients with sleep disorders are the most challenging issues in dentistry. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge among dental interns in Northern Jordan about sleep medicine and sleep disorders. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed using the Assessment of Sleep Knowledge in Medical Education (ASKME) questionnaire. The questionnaire was given to 88 dental interns (52 females and 36 males) in Northern Jordan. Chi-squared test was utilized for data analysis. Results The mean score of the ASKME questionnaire was 12 out of 30 (40%). The majority of dental interns (88.6%) correctly answered ≤ 50% of the questions. No association was found between gender and score results. Conclusions Dental interns in Northern Jordan have a low level of knowledge about sleep medicine and sleep disorders. Dental faculties should provide courses related to sleep medicine throughout undergraduate education.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e043951
Author(s):  
Jennifer Anyanti ◽  
Selema Margaret Akuiyibo ◽  
Oluwole Fajemisin ◽  
Omokhudu Idogho ◽  
Babatunde Amoo

ObjectivesThis study was designed to assess levels of awareness, knowledge, attitude and practices relating to hypertension and diabetes among adults aged 35 years resident in selected communities in Imo and Kaduna states, Nigeria.DesignA descriptive cross-sectional study.SettingSelected communities across 14 local government areas in Imo and Kaduna states were included.ParticipantsIn total, 824 adults, aged 35 years or older and resident in selected communities where the Access-N project was being implemented in Imo and Kaduna states participated in the study.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe study assessed the level of hypertension and diabetes knowledge among the participants. Regular blood pressure (BP) and glucose screening practices were also examined as outcome measures.ResultsThe mean age of the respondents was 48.32 years. In total, 778 (94.4%) and 746 (90.5%) of the respondents were aware of hypertension and diabetes, respectively. The mean hypertension and diabetes knowledge scores (±SD) were 4.99 (±1.99) and 8.02 (±2.61), respectively. A total of 326 (41.9%) respondents aware of hypertension had a good knowledge of hypertension while 477 (63.9%) of those aware of diabetes had a good knowledge of diabetes. Levels of hypertension and diabetes knowledge were found to be associated with physical activity and the level of education of the respondents. About two-thirds (62.6%) and less than half (41.5%) of the respondents, respectively check their BP and blood glucose (BG) levels regularly (at least once yearly). Statistically significant associations were observed between age and regular BP and BG level checks.ConclusionsDespite the high awareness rate of hypertension and diabetes observed in this study and a relatively good knowledge about the two conditions, unhealthy lifestyle practices and non-regular routine screening abounds among the respondents. Thus, there is a need to improve access to quality information about hypertension and diabetes aimed at motivating adoption of healthy behaviours.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Mohamadian ◽  
Hamid Sharifi ◽  
Jafar Hassanzadeh ◽  
Mohsen Mohebbi-Nodezh ◽  
Mohammad Mohebbi-Nodezh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Some residents of the Persian Gulf Coastline (PGC) areas are circular migrants due to geo-commercial issues. They have a higher risk of HIV infection, lack of awareness, and non-disclosure of their HIV/AIDS status. These people who live with HIV (PLHIV) are considered as the bridge population for HIV transmission to general population, especially adolescents. This study sought to investigate the knowledge and behavior of adolescents about HIV/AIDS prevention and transmission in a less-developed high-risk area located along the PGC.Methods: In this cross-sectional study using multistage cluster random sampling, 1450 students were invited to complete a standardized questionnaire. The prevalence of adequate knowledge, condom use, and stigmatization of HIV/AIDS and their 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) were estimated. Adjusted Odds Ratios (ORs) were estimated using ordinal logistic regression.Results: Totally, 17.09% (CI: 15.0- 19.3) of the students had adequate knowledge. Social networks and the internet were the most important sources of information (20.9%, CI: 18.6-23.3). Socioeconomic status (OR: 2.0, 95% CI: 1.7-2.3), gender (0.6, CI: 0.5- 0.8), residential area (0.08, CI: 0.05-0.1), and using social networks and the internet as the main sources of information (1.5, CI: 1.1-1.9) were correlated to the level of knowledge. Furthermore, 29.8% (CI: 27.2-32.5) of the students respected the social rights of PLHIV, and 12.6% (CI: 10.7-14.6) reported condom use.Conclusion: HIV/AIDS-related educational programs are recommended in the PGC, especially for males, students from marginalized areas, and people with lower socioeconomic statuses. Social networks and the internet may be the most effective way to improve people's knowledge about HIV/AIDS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (01) ◽  
pp. 403-409
Author(s):  
Chanda Mog

Background:Inadequate knowledge or inappropriate practices of breastfeeding may lead to undesirable consequences.Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) regarding breastfeeding among primiparous and multiparous mothers in an urban slum. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 200 mothers (100 primiparous and 100 multipara) in an urban slum and eligible mothers were selected using simple random sample technique. Results: The mean knowledge score on breastfeeding for the primiparous mothers was 8.4 ±1.8 and multiparous was 9.5±2.2. The mean attitude score for the primiparous mothers was 47.27±3.09 and 48.38±2.7 for the multiparous mothers. Out of 200 mothers, 118 (59%) had adequate knowledge and 86 (43%) mothers were correctly done breast feeding practices. However, 52% multiparous were found more correctly practicing breastfeeding than primiparous (34%) and it was statistically significant (P=0.01). The level of knowledge among multiparaous (71%) were found more adequate than primiparous (47%) and significant difference was observed (P=0.001). Most of mothers (83%) had positive attitude towards breastfeeding (82% primiparous and 84% multiparous) and mothers did not have any negative attitude towards breastfeeding. Conclusions: The level of Knowledge is still needed to be improved in primipara mothers and however, the correct practice of breastfeeding was also found low in primipara mothers than multipara mothers. These findings suggest an urgent need for dissemination of information about optimal breastfeeding practices through mass media and education of mothers during antenatal visits and immunization sessions especially in primipara mothers in the study area.


Author(s):  
Leili Salehi ◽  
Leila Keikavoosi-Arani

AbstractBackgroundHealth literacy is one of the goals of public health and the key challenge of health education in the 21st century. This study aimed to determine E-health literacy and correlates among medical sciences students in Karaj, Iran 2017.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was performed on a thousand students of Alborz University of Medical Sciences. A multi-sectional questionnaire was used to collect data. The first section included age, major, marital status; educational grade, mother and father education, socioeconomic status, health status, membrane in social network and the second compromised a validated Persian version of the E-health literacy. We used t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare the mean of variables and for categorical variables x2 was used with SPSS version 19.ResultsThe mean age of the subjects was 25.5 ± 5.6 years, of which 65.3% were male. The medical students constituted the most number of participants (28.6%). Mean eHEALS score was 26.11 ± 6.6 years. There was a significant difference between female and male regarding E-health literacy (P = 0.04). Internet was the most commonly used sources for health information (67%), the majority of the students were members of one of the social networks (77.7%) that telegram and Instagram were among the most popular networks.ConclusionImproving search skills and assessing of health resources in students, especially in medical and Para-medical sciences, is recommended. Social networks can be used as channels for the transmission of the health messages due to high usage among students.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-145
Author(s):  
Krishna Chandra Devkota ◽  
S Hamal ◽  
PP Panta

Pleural effusion is present when there is >15ml of fluid is accumulated in the pleural space. It can be divided into two types; exudative and transudative pleural effusion. Tuberculosis and parapneumonic effusion are the common cause of exudative pleural effusion whereas heart failure accounts for most of the cases of transudative pleural effusion. This study was a hospital based cross sectional study performed at Nepal Medical College during the period of January 2016-December 2016. A total of 50 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Pleural effusion was confirmed by clinical examination and radiology. After confirmation of pleural effusion, pleural fluid was aspirated and was analysed for protein, LDH, cholesterol. The Heffner criteria was compared with Light criteria to classify exudative or transudative pleural effusion. Among 50 patients, 30 were male and 20 were female. The mean age of patient was 45.4±21.85 years. The sensitivity and specificity of using Light criteria to detect the two type of pleural effusion was 100% and 90.9%, whereas using Heffner criteria was 94.87%, 100% respectively(P<0.01). There are variety of causes for development of pleural effusion and no one criteria is definite to differentiate between exudative or transudative effusion. In this study Light criteria was more sensitive whereas Heffner criteria was more specific to classify exudative pleural effusion. Hence a combination of criteria might be useful in case where there is difficulty to identify the cause of pleural effusion.


Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kwiatkowska ◽  
Katarzyna Kosińska-Kaczyńska ◽  
Izabela Walasik ◽  
Agnieszka Osińska ◽  
Iwona Szymusik

Background: No specific physical activity guidelines are available for women in multiple pregnancy. Aim of the study was to assess the knowledge and experience of women regarding physical activity during their latest twin pregnancy. Methods: A cross-sectional study including women after a twin delivery was conducted in Poland. A questionnaire was distributed in 2018 via web pages and Facebook groups designed for pregnant women. Results: 652 women filled out the questionnaire completely. Only 25% of women performed any physical exercises during twin gestation. The frequency of preterm delivery was similar in physically active and non-active participants. 35% of the respondents claimed to have gained information on proper activity from obstetricians during antenatal counselling while 11% claimed to be unable to identify the reliable sources of information. 7% of women admitted to feel discriminated by social opinion on exercising during a twin pregnancy. Conclusions: The population of women with a twin gestation is not sufficiently physically active and is often discouraged from performing exercises during gestation. Therefore, it is crucial to inform obstetricians to recommend active lifestyle during a twin gestation and to provide reliable information on physical activity to pregnant women. Further research on this topic is necessary in order for obstetric providers to counsel women on appropriate exercise with a twin pregnancy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saran Tenzin Tamang ◽  
Thinley Dorji ◽  
Sonam Yoezer ◽  
Thinley Phuntsho ◽  
Phurb Dorji

Abstract Background The third Sustainable Development Goal for 2030 development agenda aims to reduce maternal and newborn deaths. Pregnant women’s understanding of danger signs is an important factor in seeking timely care during emergencies. We assessed knowledge of obstetric danger signs using both recall and understanding of appropriate action required during obstetric emergencies. Methods This was a cross-sectional study among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Bhutan’s largest hospital in Thimphu. Recall was assessed against seven obstetric danger signs outlined in the Mother and Child Health Handbook (7 points). Understanding of danger signs was tested using 13 multiple choice questions (13 points). Knowledge was scored out of 20 points and reported as ‘good’ (≥80%), ‘satisfactory’ (60–79%) and ‘poor’ (< 60%). Correlation between participant characteristics and knowledge score as well as number of danger signs recalled was tested using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Association between knowledge score and participant characteristics was tested using t-tests (and Kruskal-Wallis test) for numeric variables. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics associated with the level of knowledge ('good’ versus ‘satisfactory’ and ‘poor’ combined) were assessed with odds ratios using a log-binomial regression model. All results with p < 0.05 were considered significant. Results Four hundred and twenty-two women responded to the survey (response rate = 96.0%). Mean (±SD) knowledge score was 12 (±2.5). Twenty women (4.7%) had ‘good’ knowledge, 245 (58.1%) had ‘satisfactory’ knowledge and 157 (37.2%) had ‘poor’ knowledge. The median number of danger signs recalled was 2 (IQR 1, 3) while 68 women (20.3%) could not recall any danger signs. Most women were knowledgeable about pre-labour rupture of membranes (96.0%) while very few women were knowledgeable about spotting during pregnancy (19.9%). Both knowledge score and number of danger signs recalled had significant correlation with the period of gestation. Women with previous surgery on the reproductive tract had higher odds of having ‘good’ level of knowledge. Conclusions Most pregnant women had ‘satisfactory’ knowledge score with poor explicit recall of danger signs. However, women recognized obstetric emergencies and identified the appropriate action warranted.


2021 ◽  
pp. 036354652098781
Author(s):  
Mathias Paiva ◽  
Lars Blønd ◽  
Per Hölmich ◽  
Kristoffer Weisskirchner Barfod

Background: Tibial tubercle–trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance is often used as a measure of lateralization of the TT and is important for surgical planning. Purpose: To investigate if increased TT-TG distance measured on axial magnetic resonance images is due to lateralization of the TT or medialization of the TG. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A total of 84 knees (28 normal [NK], 28 with trochlear dysplasia [TD], and 28 with patellar dislocation without TD [PD]) were examined. The medial border of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) was chosen as the central anatomic landmark. The distance from the TT to PCL (TT-PCL) was measured to examine the lateralization of the TT. The distance from the TG to the PCL (TG-PCL) was measured to examine the medialization of the TG. Between-group differences were investigated by use of 1-way analysis of variance. Results: The mean values for TT-TG distance were 8.7 ± 3.6 mm for NK, 12.1 ± 6.0 mm for PD, and 16.7 ± 4.3 mm in the TD group ( P < .01). The mean values for TT-PCL distance were 18.5 ± 3.6 mm for NK, 18.5 ± 4.5 mm for PD, and 21.2 ± 4.2 mm in the TD group ( P = .03). The mean values for TG-PCL distance were 9.6 ± 3.0 mm for NK, 7.1 ± 3.4 mm for PD, and 5.1 ± 3.3 mm in the dysplastic group ( P < .01). Conclusion: The present results indicate that increased TT-TG distance is due to medialization of the TG and not lateralization of the TT. Knees with TD had increased TT-TG distance compared with the knees of the control group and the knees with PD. The TT-PCL distance did not differ significantly between groups, whereas the TG-PCL distance declined with increased TT-TG.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maru Mekie ◽  
Dagne Addisu ◽  
Minale Bezie ◽  
Abenezer Melkie ◽  
Dejen Getaneh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Preeclampsia has the greatest impact on maternal mortality which complicates nearly a tenth of pregnancies worldwide. It is one of the top five maternal mortality causes and responsible for 16 % of direct maternal death in Ethiopia. Little is known about the level of knowledge and attitude towards preeclampsia in Ethiopia. This study was designed to assess the knowledge and attitude towards preeclampsia and its associated factors in South Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A multicenter facility-based cross-sectional study was implemented in four selected hospitals of South Gondar Zone among 423 pregnant women. Multistage random sampling and systematic random sampling techniques were used to select the study sites and the study participants respectively. Data were entered in EpiData version 3.1 while cleaned and analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Adjusted odds ratio with 95 % confidence interval were used to identify the significance of the association between the level of knowledge on preeclampsia and its predictors. Results In this study, 118 (28.8 %), 120 (29.3 %) of the study participants had good knowledge and a positive attitude towards preeclampsia respectively. The likelihood of having good knowledge on preeclampsia was found to be low among women with no education (AOR = 0.22, 95 % CI (0.06, 0.85)), one antenatal care visit (ANC) (AOR = 0.13, 95 % CI (0.03, 0.59)). Whereas, those who booked for ANC in the first trimester (AOR = 6.59, 95 % CI (1.43, 30.33)), gave the last birth at a health facility (AOR = 2.61, 955 CI (1.03, 6.61)), and experienced a complication during previous births (AOR = 3.67, 95 % CI (1.78, 7.57)) were more likely to be knowledgeable on preeclampsia. Conclusions No formal education and not attending four ANC visits were associated with poor knowledge of preeclampsia. While participants who visited health facilities during the first trimester, who gave birth at health facilities, and those who experienced a complication in previous births were more likely to be knowledgeable on preeclampsia. Improving the numbers of ANC visits and encouraging facility delivery are important measures to improve women’s knowledge on preeclampsia. Health education regarding preeclampsia risk factors, symptoms, and complications shall be emphasized.


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