scholarly journals Public Awareness regarding the Differences between Ophthalmologists and Optometrists among Saudi Adults Living in Riyadh: A Quantitative Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Hamad Aldebasi ◽  
Nasser Abdalazez Alsobaie ◽  
Abdulrahman Yousef Aldayel ◽  
Khalid Mousa Alwusaidi ◽  
Tariq Alasbali

Awareness of the patients to the differences between ophthalmologists and optometrists has been recognized as an important factor influencing patient utilization of available eye care services. This study aimed at assessing the public’s knowledge of the differences between ophthalmologists and optometrists among the residents of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire was administered to adults in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January to February in 2018. The number of the respondents was 1579. Results show that 50% (n=789) of the participants had fair knowledge of the differences between ophthalmologists and optometrists, while 32% (n=505) had poor knowledge. After multivariate logistic regression analysis, there was a significant association between satisfactory knowledge and visiting an optometrist (odds ratio (OR): 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57–0.98), age older than 26 (OR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.17–1.19), higher level of education (OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.54–2.4), and wearing spectacles (OR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.45–0.73). Given the low level of public knowledge regarding the differences in the duties between ophthalmologist and optometrists among a Saudi population, there is great potential for general population education through awareness campaign and social media regarding eye care provider’s duties and practices.

Author(s):  
Nisreen M. Abdulsalam ◽  
Najla A. Khateeb ◽  
Sarah S. Aljerbi ◽  
Waad M. Alqumayzi ◽  
Shaima S. Balubaid ◽  
...  

The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic in March 2020. Global efforts have been made to prevent the disease from spreading through political decisions and personal behaviors, all of which rely on public awareness. The aim of our study was to examine the effect of dietary habits on weight and physical activity (PA) during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire was distributed using social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp) and email communication. A total of 472 adults (age range, 18–59 years), over half of the study population (68.0%) being females, 55.5% being between 19 and 29 years old, 15.0%—between 30 and 39 years old, and 11.2%—older than 50 years old, participated in the study. Our results indicated that the overall body weight was slightly increased among the 50+ age group (47.2%, p > 0.05), but it highly increased among the 30–39-years-old age group (32.4%, p > 0.05) as compared to before the pandemic lockdown period. Therefore, our results show that a significant difference (p < 0.05) was found for all the assessments: weight status, physical activity patterns, hours spent on screen time, homemade meals, and changes in dietary habits before and during the full COVID-19 curfew period. This study demonstrated that changes in eating habits were commonly reported among the participants who represented the full COVID-19 curfew period and that changes in eating habits and decreased physical activity led to weight gain.


Author(s):  
Khalid A. Alshehri ◽  
Waleed M. Alqulayti ◽  
Bassam E. Yaghmoor ◽  
Hisham Alem

Background: Knowledge of ear health and hearing loss is essential for early intervention and treatment, but the state of public knowledge of such in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, remains unknown.Objectives: To measure public knowledge of ear health and hearing loss.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted during August 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. An electronic survey questionnaire was distributed to 2372 residents of various districts in Jeddah. The survey was created in 2013 by adopting previously published World Health Organization material, designed to assess knowledge and perception of ear health. All males and females aged 10 years or older living in Jeddah had the chance to participate in this study. A total of 2372 people participated. Percentages mean ± standard deviation, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVAs) and independent t-tests were applied to determine the significant difference. p-values of 0.05 or less were considered significant.Results: The overall mean number of correct responses on the survey’s true/false questionnaire was 10.66 ± 1.92 out of 14. Female participants gave a higher mean number of correct answers than did male participants (10.73 ± 2.03 vs. 10.54 ± 2.03, respectively). Participants with a family history of hearing loss gave a higher mean number of correct answers compared with participants who reported a negative family history (10.89 ± 1.82 vs. 10.53 ± 1.97, respectively).Conclusion: Overall awareness of ear health and hearing loss management is fair. However, the results indicate a need for more integrated educational materials to be made available both to the general population as well as to hearing loss individuals and their families.


Author(s):  
Waleed M Alghamdi ◽  
Saif H Alrasheed

Objectives: This study aimed to assess parents’ awareness of and perspectives on childhood refractive error in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional study included parents from different regions of Saudi Arabia was conducted between October and November 2020 and included 358 parents. Data were collected using an online questionnaire that involved questions to assess parents’ knowledge and perceptions of childhood refractive error and spectacle wear. Results: A total of 358 completed questionnaires were obtained in this study with a response rate of 85%. Almost 38.3% of parents reported that they had never heard of refractive error. One-third (33.7%) mentioned that uncorrected refractive error did not lead to visual impairment. The majority (74.0%) cited using eyeglasses as an effective way to manage childhood refractive error. Two-thirds (63.7%) stated that they did not receive any information about paediatric eye care. Better knowledge was associated with having a higher educational level, being female, and having an older age (p˂0.001, p=0.008, and p=0.024 respectively). Regarding parents' perspective on spectacle wear, almost 13.7% felt that using eyeglasses affected their children's chances of learning. However, 82.7% supposed that eyeglasses did not affect their children's employment opportunities. Approximately 22.1% thought that using eyeglasses would decrease the eyes power resulting in childhood visual impairment. Conclusion: The level of awareness and perceptions of childhood refractive error and spectacle wear was low among parents. Therefore, a policy is needed to improve the awareness and perception of key stakeholders such as parents and teachers.  In turn such an improvement could play a crucial role in addressing the poor knowledge and bad perception of treatment for childhood refractive error. Keywords: Childhood visual impairment; spectacle wear; parental attitudes; refractive error; paediatric eye care; psychological effect; vision care; Spectacle compliance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wafa Basfr ◽  
Ahlam Hamdan ◽  
Samia Al-Habib

Objectives: Workplace violence (WPV) has become a world-wide concern. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of WPV among nurses working in psychiatric hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at three psychiatric hospitals in Saudi Arabia between March and May 2017. Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire which was used to measure the prevalence and explore the associated factors of WPV. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was also performed. Results: A total of 310 nurses (response rate: 62%) were included in this study. The prevalence of WPV against nurses was 90.3%, of which 57.7% had been exposed to both physical and verbal abuse. More nurses were exposed to WPV during the morning shift than the evening shift (58.4% versus 42.3%). Violent behaviour was exhibited mostly by the patients themselves (81.3%). Over half of the nurses (57.4%) required medical intervention in such cases. The majority of nurses felt either stressed (64.2%) or anxious (53.5%) and 34.2% felt depressed after the incident. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that time of violence, source of violence, patient dissatisfaction with medical care and lack of organisational support for nurses were significantly associated with the occurrence of WPV in psychiatric units. Conclusion: WPV has reached an alarming rate among nurses in psychiatric hospitals in Saudi Arabia. It is crucial to invest in the prevention of WPV by constant training of workers and a mutual policy with the police and the civic prosecutor in Saudi Arabia on how to respond to violent psychiatric patients. Keywords: Workplace Violence; Psychiatry; Nurse; Mental Health; Saudi Arabia.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 882
Author(s):  
Charalampos Attipa ◽  
Christos Yiapanis ◽  
Séverine Tasker ◽  
Anastasia Diakou

Toxoplasma gondii is a cosmopolitan protozoon parasite, and the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, one of the most prevalent zoonotic parasitic diseases. Cats, as definitive hosts, spread the parasite via their faeces, but this occurs only for a very short period in their life. Seropositivity in cats, although not associated with current shedding of the parasite, is indicative of the infection in a cat population and can be used to assess the infection risk for definitive and intermediate hosts in that area. In order to assess the prevalence of infection in cats living in Cyprus, 155 cats, originating from all districts of the country, were examined for the presence of T. gondii antibodies. Additionally, parameters such as age, sex, health status, lifestyle and concomitant infections were statistically assessed as potential risk factors for T. gondii seropositivity. Specific anti-T. gondii antibodies were detected in 50 (32.3%) cats, while the presence of feline immunodeficiency virus antibodies and a history of never having been vaccinated were statistically associated with T. gondii seropositivity on multivariate logistic regression analysis. This is the first report of T. gondii seroprevalence in cats in Cyprus and indicates that raised public awareness should be considered to prevent infection of animals and humans.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waleed A. Al Rashed ◽  
Amro K. Bin Abdulrahman ◽  
Ahmed A. Zarban ◽  
Mohammed S. Almasri ◽  
Abdulrahman S. Mirza ◽  
...  

Aim. The current study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of eye disease and awareness of eye care among the Saudi adults and to explore existing eye-related misconceptions in the community. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Riyadh city during May and June 2016. A self-administered anonymous online questionnaire was used to explore the most common misconceptions related to eye diseases and eye care. Results. Out of 1000 individuals, only 711 (71.1%) participant responses were received. The participants’ acceptable knowledge (score ≥50%) was high about the eye problem in diabetes (88.6%), ocular trauma (81.2%), and other general eye diseases (91.3%), whereas low about refractive errors (63%), pediatric eye problems (51.5%), and glaucoma (14.8%). The variation in knowledge about specific ocular morbidities was significant (p<0.001). The majority of participants reported sources of information about the common eye diseases and eye care encountered from the community, internet-based resources, and social media. Conclusions. The majority of the participants had awareness about the common eye diseases, whereas low percentage of participant’s awareness about specific condition of eye diseases. Public eye health awareness should be more focused on social media and the internet to be able to cover the younger individuals of the community.


Author(s):  
Moustafa Magliyah ◽  
Ali Alsaedi ◽  
Nawwaf Alqahtani ◽  
Mohammed Almalki ◽  
Adel Alharthi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Care ◽  

Author(s):  
Baha-Eldin Abdulhalim ◽  
Faiz Alroqee ◽  
Saad Alotaibi ◽  
Muqrin Alotaibi ◽  
Saud Alsehali ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 401-411
Author(s):  
Rania Naguib ◽  
◽  
Rima Salman M Bnfadliah ◽  
Watin Ali A Aldrebi ◽  
Sarah Mohammed Alasgah ◽  
...  

Background And Aim: COVID-19 is a devastating pandemic which seriously affected population health and world’s economy. With all advances to diagnose, treat and prevent COVID-19, public knowledge about COVID-10 and adoption of healthy behaviors to avoid infection remain the cornerstone of effective disease control. This study aims to explore public knowledge, adherence to protection practices and self-perception about COVID-19 during the pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia from June to September 2020. People aged 18 years or older were invited to participate in an online questionnaire modified from the survey tool of the World Health Organization. The survey consisted of a total of 37 items assessing the demographics, knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19. Results: The average COVID-19 knowledge score was 58.8%. More than two-third of participants were adherent to guidelines avoiding the infection. There was a positive moderate correlation between total knowledge score and total adherence score of protection. Majority reported very poor or poor level of knowledge. Most of participants reported that they have good knowledge on how to protect themselves. knowledge level was significantly higher among highly educated, younger male individuals with suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. Conclusion: Saudi people with high educational level, younger age, males and individuals suspected or diagnosed to have COVID-19 were more likely to have higher knowledge score. Good COVID-19 knowledge is related with positive attitudes and appropriate COVID-19 practices, implying that health education programs focused at increasing COVID-19 knowledge can help encourage a positive attitude and promote safe practices. As the worldwide threat of COVID-19 continues to emerge, efforts through educational campaigns aimed at the public, particularly the undereducated, older females are important.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document