scholarly journals Prevalence of Allergies among University Students: A Study from Ajman, United Arab Emirates

ISRN Allergy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisha Jenny John ◽  
Sharfaa Ahmed ◽  
Fiza Anjum ◽  
Mohieddin Kebab ◽  
Naik Mohammed ◽  
...  

Aim. Urbanization and globalization in the Middle East have resulted in drastic environmental changes and increased allergens present in the environment. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of allergies among undergraduate students from a university. Material and Methods. This cross-sectional survey was carried out among undergraduate students of a University at Ajman, UAE. A self-administered questionnaire was used as research instrument for data collection. The demographic data and the allergy characteristics were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 19. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Results. A total of 255 students (33.3% males; 66.7% females) were included. Commonest allergies among the students were allergic conjunctivitis (104 (40.8%)), allergic dermatitis (89 (34.9%)), and eczema (38 (14.9%)). Family history of allergies was strongly associated with occurrence of allergic conjunctivitis and allergic dermatitis. In about 58 (22%) of the students, dust was the most common triggering factor for allergies. Allergies associated with pollen, food, and drugs were less frequent. The distribution of allergies based on gender revealed female preponderance in all types of allergies. Students with allergies reported interference with their daily activities, and academic, social, and extracurricular activities. Conclusions. Allergic conjunctivitis and allergic dermatitis were the frequent allergies reported. Adequate preventive strategies can crumb the prevalence of allergies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-29
Author(s):  
Nehemia Kilongo ◽  
Francis F. Furia

Background: Enuresis is common childhood disorders which affecting quality of life of children and causing significant psychosocial disturbances to children and their families. This condition has been widely reported globally with increasing data from sub-Saharan African region. In Tanzania there is no reports on its magnitude and therefore this study was carried out with the aim of determine the prevalence of this condition among children in Tanzania.Methods: This was a community based cross-sectional study conducted among children aged between 5 and 14 years recruited from 12 streets in Morogoro Municipality in Tanzania. Standardized Swahili questionnaire was used to collect data including socio-demographic details of parents,  children and presence of enuresis. Socio-demographic data included age of the child, sex, level of education of the parents, education of the child, presence of bed wetting, history of enuresis in the family.Results: Five hundred and ten children were recruited into this study out of which 271 (53.1%) were females and mean age of study participants was 9±2.8 years. Enuresis was noted in 19% (97/510) of children, 68% (66/97) and 32% (31/97) had primary and secondary enuresis respectively. Significantly higher prevalence rates of enuresis were noted for children aged below 8 years 26.4% (43/162) and those with family history of enuresis 47% (18/38) with p values of 0.01 and < 0.001 respectively. Forty-one (42.3%) out of 97 respondents whose children had enuresis reported to have punished their children and only 21.4% (20/97) reported to have sought treatment for their children.Conclusions: Enuresis is common among children in Tanzania particularly those with positive family history. Punishment to children with enuresis was noted in this study and only one in five parents/guardians sought treatment for their affected children. Therefore, there is a need for initiatives for raising community awareness about enuresis in Tanzania Key words: Enuresis in children, prevalence of enuresis in Tanzania, factors affecting enuresis in children.



2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabia Merve Palalioglu ◽  
Ozan Karadeniz ◽  
Gokce Ipek Aytok ◽  
Batuhan Palalioglu ◽  
Gizem Nur Koyan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:COVID-19 pandemic is an important and urgent public health problem. It is currently unknown that how pregnant women deal with the Coronavirus disease and its results. The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychological impact of the coronavirus pandemic on pregnant women and to determine whether pregnant women have sufficient knowledge and awareness for a healthy antenatal process.Methods: This prospective study was conducted at two centers. Regardless of the gestational age, a questionnaire was distributed to 1003 pregnant women in total, from 51 original questions that investigate the pregnant women’s demographic data, history of contact with COVID-19-positive patients, knowledge and concerns about COVID-19, precautions. 526 participants were included in the study. The questionnaire was delivered using the QR code method. The questionnaires were answered online by participants via SurveyMonkey in order to minimize contamination due to the pandemic.Results: The period when anxiety was highest was the 2nd trimester, whereas women in the 1st trimester had the lowest level of anxiety. High levels of awareness were observed in patients with heart disease, but patients with diabetes mellitus had a high level of anxiety. There was a statistically significant correlation between anxiety and awareness scores of the coronavirus disease.Conclusion:It is important to maintain the mental and physical health of pregnant women, who are in a more delicate condition than other individuals in the society. In this regard, healthcare professionals have important duties such as taking necessary precautions and explaining the seriousness of the situation to pregnant women.



Author(s):  
Nisha Syed Nasser ◽  
Loh Jia Ling ◽  
Aida Abdul Rashid ◽  
Hamed Sharifat ◽  
Umar Ahmad ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTObjectiveProblematic smartphone use (PSU) is the development of pathological dependence at the expense of performing activities of daily living, thus having a negative health and psychosocial impact on the users. Previous PSU studies focused on medical students and little is known regarding its effect on students undergoing other fields of study. The objective of this study is to identify the pattern of smartphone usage and determine the psychosocial factors affecting PSU among undergraduate students in Malaysia and compare the pattern among different fields of study.MethodA prospective cross-sectional study was conducted using validated Smartphone Addiction Scale–Malay version (SAS-M) questionnaire. One-way ANOVA was used to determine the correlation between the patterns of smartphone usage among the students categorised by their ethnic groups, hand dominance and by their field of study. MLR analysis was applied to predict PSU based on socio-demographic data, smartphone usage patterns, psychosocial factors and field of study.ResultsA total of 1060 students completed the questionnaire. The majority of students had PSU (60.7%). Students used smartphones predominantly to access SNAs, namely Instagram. Longer duration on the smartphone per day (≥ 9 hours), age at first using a smartphone and depression carried higher risk of developing PSU, whereas the field of study (science vs. arts based) did not contribute to an increased risk of developing PSU.ConclusionFindings from this study can help better inform university administrators about at-risk groups of undergraduate students who may benefit from targeted intervention designed to reduce their addictive behavior patterns.



2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Luh Pitriyanti ◽  
Dewa Nyoman Wirawan ◽  
Komang Ayu Kartika Sari ◽  
Desak Putu Yuli Kurniati ◽  
I Made Kerta Duana ◽  
...  

AbstractBackground and purpose: Electronic cigarettes have been available globally since 2003 and first became for sale in Indonesia in 2010. Users tend to be predominately young people. The purpose of this study is to determine the proportion, characteristics and factors that influence the use of electronic cigarette among university students.Method: This research used a cross sectional survey with 351 undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines at Udayana University chosen by multistage sampling. In the first phase, 10 study programs were chosen randomly from 47 courses at Udayana University. The selection of respondents was influenced by the convenience of data collection, that is, questionnaire via the Survey Monkey application. Analysis with logistic regression was used to determine the factors influencing electronic cigarette usage based on several variables.Results: The proportion of students who used tobacco cigarettes was 14.53%. Respondents who reported using electronic cigarettes numbered 61 (17.38%, 95%CI: 13.46%-21.3%), and 40.98% of them were still current smokers. As many as 88.52% of respondents who had ever used electronic cigarette are male students, and 11.48% female students. Students who had ever used electronic cigarettes in the campus area totaled 22 people (36.07%). The reasons provided for using electronic cigarettes included a desire to stop using tobacco cigarettes (29.51%), the fact that electronic cigarettes are considered safer (26.23%), are considered “cool” (22.95%), experimental reasons, and other (26.23%). Multivariate analysis showed that the variables found to be associated with the use of electronic cigarettes were gender (AOR=14.72; 95%CI: 4.34-49.87), a history of smoking tobacco cigarettes (AOR=42.16; 95%CI: 13.56-131.08), had a history of consuming alcoholic beverages (AOR=5.72; 95%CI: 2.04-16.04) as well as coming from a smoking household (AOR=3.87; 95%CI: 1.33 - 11.21).Conclusion: The proportion of students who have ever used electronic cigarettes was found to be higher than cigarette tobacco users. In addition, use was found to be greater among male students than in female students. Influencing factors associated with the use of electronic cigarettes are gender, a history of tobacco smoking, a history of consuming alcoholic beverages as well as coming from a smoking household. There is a need for prevention efforts including education and regulations to reduce the use of electronic cigarettes among students and the general public.





2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. bjgp18X697349
Author(s):  
Anna Lalonde ◽  
Emma Teasdale ◽  
Ingrid Muller ◽  
Joanne Chalmers ◽  
Peter Smart ◽  
...  

BackgroundCellulitis is a common painful infection of the skin and underlying tissues that recurs in approximately a third of cases. Patients’ ability to recover from cellulitis or prevent recurrence is likely to be influenced by their understanding of the condition.AimTo explore patients’ perceptions of cellulitis and their information needs.MethodMixed methods study comprising semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and cross-sectional survey, recruiting through primary care, secondary care and advertising. Adults aged 18 or over with a history of cellulitis (first or recurrent) were invited to complete a survey, take part in an interview or both. Qualitative data was analysed thematically.ResultsThirty interviews were conducted between August 2016 and July 2017. Qualitative data revealed low prior awareness of cellulitis, uncertainty around diagnosis, concern/surprise at the severity of cellulitis, and perceived insufficient information provision. People were surprised they had never heard of the condition and that they had not received advice or leaflets giving self-care information. Some sought information from the internet and found this bewildering. Two hundred and forty surveys were completed (response rate 17%). These showed that, while most people received information on the treatment of cellulitis (60.0%, n = 144), they reported receiving no information about causes (60.8%, n = 146) or prevention of recurrence (73.3%, n = 176).ConclusionThere is a need for provision of basic information for people with cellulitis, particularly being informed of the name of their condition, how to manage acute episodes, and how to reduce risk of recurrence.



2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahad Alanezi

UNSTRUCTURED E-health system is emerging and providing health services and solutions through different electronic gadgets. Saudi Arabia has launched a program called Saudi Arabia vision 2030, in which providing state-of-the-art health facilities to their citizen is of topmost priority. After all the efforts, the residents of Saudi Arabia are still reluctant for the adaptation of e-health system. The current study was conducted to evaluate the obstacle in adoption of the e-health system through the mobile phones. The current study was cross-sectional survey and was conducted by developing a self-administered structured questionnaire asking the utilization of mobile phone in state of health emergency prior to ask any medical history. Majority of the participants was married and doing jobs in different firms and have their personal mobile phones (p = 0.100, > 0.05) which indicates easily access to the e-health apps. The majority of the participants suffers from either obesity or high blood pressure (p = 0.018, < 0.05) regardless of either history of mental disorder or other family history of mental diseases. The pattern of diseases with mental disorders correlate well with adoption of e-health in government policies. The obstacles in adopting e-health includes fear of the loss of personal data and information (p = 0.0401, < 0.05). Moreover, they did not trust on online medications as the doctor cannot prescribe medicines without seeing physical health of the patient. The current study concluded that by making improvement in policies and proper commercializing the e-health apps together with awareness programs can boast the adoption of e-health in Saudi Arabia.



2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 205970022110244
Author(s):  
Katie Alison Falla ◽  
Sarah Randall ◽  
Carol DeMatteo

Objectives There are two objectives for this paper. First, to determine effects of a concussion education program in a local school board in terms of concussion-specific knowledge in children and confidence in identifying and managing concussion in adults. Second, to identify differences and similarities in concussion knowledge between children who participate in sports and those who do not and between children with a history of one or more concussions and those without. Design A cross sectional survey regarding concussion knowledge was distributed randomly to students and adults at both pre- and posteducation timepoints. A concussion education program was disseminated across the school board for students between the distribution survey timepoints. Following the education program, adults and students completed their respective post-test surveys. Chi-squared tests in SPSS determined the significance of between-group differences. Results All 17 adults (100.0%) who had received concussion education recently reported confidence in their knowledge of concussion management, compared to 35.7% adults who had not received education for over a year (p = 0.020). For students, all of whom completed the concussion education training between the pre- and post-tests, there were no significant differences in concussion knowledge scores between athletes and non-athletes (either in or outside of school) or between those with a history of concussion and those without. There were no significant changes in concussion knowledge between the pre- and post-tests, except for one question. Conclusion Concussion education programs increase confidence of concussion management protocols in adults involved in sport, but they require improvements to better support knowledge amelioration, particularly for target groups that are at high risk of sustaining another injury.



Author(s):  
Musaab Elzain ◽  
Ahmed Bashir ◽  
Noreen Moloney ◽  
Colum P. Dunne ◽  
Brendan D. Kelly ◽  
...  

Objectives: To investigate the frequency, characteristics and impact of death threats by patients towards psychiatrists. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of psychiatrists (n = 60) was undertaken to investigate the frequency, characteristics and impact of death threats by patients in one Irish healthcare region serving a mixed urban–rural population of 470,000. Results: Forty-nine responses (82%) were received. Thirty-one per cent of respondents experienced death threats by patients during their careers. Victims were more likely to be male and in a consultant role. Patients making the threats were more likely to be males aged 30–60 with a history of violence and diagnosis of personality disorder and/or substance misuse. A majority of threats occurred in outpatient settings and identified a specific method of killing, usually by stabbing. Prosecution of the perpetrator was uncommon. Of the victimised psychiatrists, 53% reported that such threats affected their personal lives, and 67% believed their professional lives were impacted. In half of the incidents, there were adverse incidents subsequent to the threats, involving either the patient or the clinician. Conclusions: Death threats by patients have significant psychological and professional impacts on psychiatrists. Early liaison with employers and police and transferring the care of the patient to another clinician may be useful measures.



SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402110063
Author(s):  
MaryJoy Umoke ◽  
Prince Christian Ifeanachor Umoke ◽  
Chioma Adaora Nwalieji ◽  
Rosemary N. Onwe ◽  
Ifeanyi Emmanuel Nwafor ◽  
...  

Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease characterized by acute viral hemorrhagic fever, endemic in West Africa including Nigeria. The study assessed the knowledge and sources of information on Lassa fever infection among the undergraduate students of Ebonyi State University, Nigeria. This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted among a sample of 389 students (18 years above). A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed with SPSS (Version 20), and hypotheses were tested at p < .05 level of significance. Results showed that the majority of the students had good knowledge of Lassa fever description, 232 (60.75%); the signs and symptoms, 221 (57.9%); mode of transmission, 261 (68.41%); and preventive measures, 291 (76.13%). Radio, 23 (84.6%), and television, 307 (80.4%), were their major sources of information. Age ( p = .424), sex ( p = .082), and academic level ( p = .553) were not significant in the study, while faculty (social sciences; p = .000*) was strongly associated with the knowledge of Lassa fever. In conclusion, the overall knowledge of Lassa fever was good among students, though knowledge gaps were observed in the signs and symptoms. We recommend that health education on endemic diseases in the state be made a compulsory course as a general study (GST) in the university. Also, the internet, social media, and campus campaign be further used to educate and sensitize students on the effect of Lassa fever.



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