Evaluation of current contraception methods and knowledge among females in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional survey

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.

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COVID-19 Vaccine Intention among Healthcare Workers in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines9080835 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 835

Author(s):

Mohammed Noushad ◽

Mohammad Zakaria Nassani ◽

Anas B. Alsalhani ◽

Pradeep Koppolu ◽

Fayez Hussain Niazi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Healthcare System ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Vaccine Coverage ◽

Vaccination Campaign ◽

Herd Immunity ◽

Positive Sign ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Public Health Strategies

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused largescale morbidity and mortality and a tremendous burden on the healthcare system. Healthcare workers (HCWs) require adequate protection to avoid onward transmission and minimize burden on the healthcare system. Moreover, HCWs can also influence the general public into accepting the COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, determining COVID-19 vaccine intention among HCWs is of paramount importance to plan tailor-made public health strategies to maximize vaccine coverage. A structured questionnaire was administered in February and March 2021 among HCWs in Saudi Arabia using convenience sampling, proceeding the launch of the vaccination campaign. HCWs from all administrative regions of Saudi Arabia were included in the study. In total, 674 out of 1124 HCWs responded and completed the survey (response rate 59.9%). About 65 percent of the HCWs intended to get vaccinated. The intention to vaccinate was significantly higher among HCWs 50 years of age or older, Saudi nationals and those who followed the updates about COVID-19 vaccines (p < 0.05). The high percentage (26 percent) of those who were undecided in getting vaccinated is a positive sign. As the vaccination campaign gathers pace, the attitude is expected to change over time. Emphasis should be on planning healthcare strategies to convince the undecided HCWs into accepting the vaccine in order to achieve the coverage required to achieve herd immunity.

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COVID-19 Psychological Impact on Health Care Workers in Saudi Arabia

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18116076 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 6076

Author(s):

Hasan S. Alamri ◽

Wesam F. Mousa ◽

Abdullah Algarni ◽

Shehata F. Megahid ◽

Ali Al Bshabshe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Psychological Outcomes ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers ◽

The Impact

Objective: Little is known about the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) among the health care workers in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 among the health care workers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May till mid-July among 389 health care workers from government and private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using a pre-structured online questionnaire that measured adverse psychological outcomes, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale. The Pearson chi-square test was used to assess the distribution of depression and anxiety among health care workers. Results: A high level of anxiety was recorded among the health care workers, and 69.3% of health care workers below the age of 40 were found to have depression. There was a significant increase in depression among staff with chronic health problems (72.1% vs. 61.9%; p = 0.048). High anxiety levels were detected among young staff compared to others (68.7% vs. 43.8%; p = 0.001). Moreover, 82.1% of the female staff were anxious, as compared to 55.6% of the males (p = 0.001). Conclusions: We found increased prevalence of adverse psychological outcomes among the health care workers in Saudi Arabia during the outbreak of COVID-19. Therefore, there is a need for proper screening and development of corresponding preventive measures to decrease the adverse psychological outcomes.

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Perioperative nutrition care and dietetic practices in the scope of bariatric surgery in Saudi Arabia using adapted protocols for evaluation

SAGE Open Medicine ◽

10.1177/20503121211036136 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. 205031212110361

Author(s):

Elham Abbas Aljaaly

Keyword(s):

Bariatric Surgery ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Care Process ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Nutrition Risk ◽

Nutrition Care ◽

Management Protocol ◽

Perioperative Nutrition

Objectives: This study evaluates the availability of perioperative nutritional care protocols and the practices of bariatric registered dietitians in Saudi Arabia. The primary outcomes of the study were conducted using an adapted American survey “with permission.” Methods: A cross-sectional survey of a selected 32 dietitians providing bariatric services completed a self-administered online questionnaire from 12 hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Results: All surveyed dietitians were females, mainly Saudi nationals (93.9%, n = 30), and accredited by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (93.8%, n = 30). Only 37.5% (n = 6) of the dietitians were specialized in bariatric surgery. Perioperative common practices of dietitians included a conduct of screening for nutrition risk before (44%, n = 14) and after surgery (62.5%, n = 20) and applied a nutrition management protocol that is mainly based on the application of nutrition care process (62.5%, n = 20). Dietitians (81%, n = 26) reported the importance of having standardized protocols for nutritional management of patients undoing bariatric surgery, where 69% (n = 22) confirmed the availability of pre-operative written protocols in hospitals and 75% (n = 24) confirmed the existence of post-operative protocols. Pre-operative practices included using approaches for weight loss before surgery, for example, very low and low-calorie diet. Dietitians (25%, n = 8) see two to ten patients per month. The sleeve gastrectomy procedure is the most often performed surgery. Conclusion: This is the first study to evaluate the perioperative nutrition care protocols and practices related to bariatric surgery in Saudi Arabia. Perioperative bariatric protocols are available, but some dietitians are not aware of their availability and contents. Researchers emphasize the importance of creating national protocols by the Saudi Credentials Body to standardize practices within the field.

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Mental Health of COVID-19 Patients—A Cross-Sectional Survey in Saudi Arabia

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18094758 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 4758

Author(s):

Hasan Saeed Alamri ◽

Wesam F. Mousa ◽

Abdullah Algarni ◽

Shehata F. Megahid ◽

Ali Al Bshabshe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Personal Data ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Work Related ◽

Patients Experience ◽

Self Administered Questionnaire

Background: This study aims to investigate the mental health of COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out targeting confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. Due to travel and time constraints as well as the accessibility of patients, cases were included from East Jeddah Hospital, King Abdulaziz Hospital, and the Oncology Center in Jeddah. The data were collected using a predesigned self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire addressed COVID-19 cases, personal data, medical history, smoking, traveling abroad, and work-related conditions. Additionally, data regarding contact level with COVID-19 cases were considered. The mental health statuses of the patients were assessed using a validated Arabic version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale. The study included 261 COVID-19 patients whose ages ranged from 18 to 65 years. Results: The survey findings revealed that 13% of COVID-19 patients had a borderline level of anxiety, 26.8% were considered anxiety cases, while 60.2% were normal. The findings also revealed that 29.9% had a borderline level of depression, 18.4% were considered depression cases, while 51.7% were normal. Conclusions: This study concluded that COVID-19 patients experience anxiety and depression, and as the COVID-19 epidemic continues to spread, the results of the study are particularly useful in developing a strategy to psychologically support COVID-19 patients.

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Obesity in Saudi Arabia in 2020: Prevalence, Distribution, and Its Current Association with Various Health Conditions

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9030311 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 311

Author(s):

Nora A. Althumiri ◽

Mada H. Basyouni ◽

Norah AlMousa ◽

Mohammed F. AlJuwaysim ◽

Rasha A. Almubark ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

National Level ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Age And Gender ◽

Prevalence Of Obesity ◽

And Gender ◽

Colon Diseases

The global prevalence of obesity is increasing. Obesity is associated with many chronic diseases and health conditions. This study aims to estimate the current prevalence of obesity in Saudi Arabia and described the current national-level status of the association between obesity and various health conditions. This study is a nationwide cross-sectional survey conducted over phone-interviews in June 2020. In this study, a proportional quota-sampling technique was used to obtain equal distributions of participants, stratified by age and gender, across the 13 regions of Saudi Arabia. Weight and height were self-reported, and the obesity was determined as BMI ≥ 30. Logistic regression adjusted for age and gender was used for exploring current associations between obesity and health conditions. Of the 6239 participants contacted, 4709 participants responded and completed the interview with a response rate of 75.48%. Of them, 50.1% were female, the mean age was 36.4 ± 13.5 (Range: 18–90), and the median age was 36. The national weighted prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 30) was 24.7%, and the prevalence in the sample (unweighted) was 21.7%. Obesity was significantly associated with type 2 diabetes [Odd ratio, (OR) = 1.52], hypercholesterolemia (OR = 1.69), hypertension (OR = 1.61), lung diseases (OR = 1.69), rheumatoid arthritis (OR = 1.57), sleep apnea (OR = 1.82), colon diseases (OR = 1.31), and thyroid disorders (OR = 1.8). This study provides an update on the recent prevalence of obesity in Saudi Arabia. It also shows the variation in prevalence rates between different regions, which might be explored further. Although obesity shows a decreasing trend, almost one-quarter of this study sample were obese. Obesity is currently associated with many health conditions that can affect the individuals’ quality of life, impose stress on the healthcare system and impose an economic burden on the country. This evidence highlights the need for action to focus more on obesity in Saudi Arabia.

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