Undescended testis: Knowledge and Practice Among Primary Care Physicians in Bahrain

Background & Objectives: Un-descended testis (UDT) is the most common congenital anomaly in male newborns. Spontaneous descent of testes does not occur beyond six months of age. As Bahrain has a universal child screening program, primary care physicians are the first physicians to encounter these children. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of UDT, its work up and management among primary care physicians in Bahrain. Awareness of recent guidelines and current recommended practices in management were evaluated. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on a self-administered 12-item questionnairewith questions about incidence, pathophysiology, examination, management and complications of undescended testes, which was distributed among 101 among primary care physicians. Data was expressed as mean±standard deviation and measures of central tendency were used for descriptive analysis. P value was set at <0.05. Results: An equal number of family physicians and pediatricians completed the survey, while general practitioners formed the lowest proportion of responders. Most of the responders had at least 5 years of experience (72.3%) and encountered an average of one to four cases of UDT per year (70.3%). With respect to the knowledge of UDT and specialty (p >0.05), work experience (p >0.05) or annual case load (p >0.05) was observed. The average score in this cohort was 5.9 out of a maximum of 10 points. About 50.5% of the respondents scored between 5 and 6 points (50.5%). Conclusions:A remarkablegap in the knowledge about the different aspects of UDT amongst primary care physicians was documented.

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EVALUATION OF DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IN PATIENTS WITH CONCOMITANT CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE

Wiadomości Lekarskie ◽

10.36740/wlek202010112 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 73 (10) ◽

pp. 2170-2174

Author(s):

Oleksii M. Korzh

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Management Training ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Self Management ◽

Average Score ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Self Monitoring ◽

Diabetes Educators

The aim: Was to evaluate the quality of DSME provided by primary care physicians to people with diabetes mellitus. Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 primary care physicians. The quality of diabetes self-management training provided by physicians was assessed on a personal scale of 39 Likert questions obtained from the American Association of Diabetes Educators in seven areas of diabetes self-monitoring. The Cronbach’s reliability coefficient for each domain / subscale was ≥ 0.7. The data were analyzed using an independent selective t-test and one-way ANOVA. Results: More than half of the doctors provided “inadequate quality” of diabetes self-management in all areas. Doctors had the highest average score in the domain of “drug intake” (4.46 ± 0.61). Average scores in the “problem-solving domain” (3.52 ± 0.63) and “ being active domain” (3.46 ± 0.75) were low. The quality of DSME provided by physicians was not related to any of the characteristics of the physician. Conclusions: The quality of doctors’ communication on DSME in this study was suboptimal. Most adequately informed cases of diabetic behavior associated with self-management have been associated with reduced risk factors and an orientation towards disease. Thus, training of primary care physicians in diabetic self-management is recommended because of the key role that these doctors play in managing diabetes.

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Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices towards Diabetic Retinopathy among Primary Care Physicians of Saudi Arabia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9121697 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 1697

Author(s):

Ashokkumar Thirunavukkarasu ◽

Abdulmohsen Khaled Almulhim ◽

Faisal Ahmed Albalawi ◽

Ziyad Muharib Alruwaili ◽

Ola Ali Almajed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Diabetic Retinopathy ◽

Work Experience ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Age Group ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Attitudes And Practices

Primary care physicians play a vital role in preventing the progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) from the initial stages to the late stages. This questionnaire-based analytical cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude, practices, and their correlation among 274 randomly selected primary care physicians in Saudi Arabia. Among the studied population, high knowledge, attitudes, and practice scores were observed in 21.5%, 15%, and 29.2% of the physicians, respectively. The mean knowledge score was significantly higher among the age group of less than 30 years (p = 0.031) and the female gender (p = 0.012). The attitude scores were significantly higher among the Saudi physicians (p = 0.027) and those with PHC work experience of less than five years (p < 0.001). Regarding the practices, a significant association was found among the age group of less than 30 years (p = 0.019) and Saudi physicians (p = 0.003). There was a significant positive correlation between knowledge (correlation coefficient (r) = 0.739, p < 0.001) and attitude (r = 0.479, p = 0.007) with the practice scores. It is recommended that targeted continuous medical education, workshops, and seminars are conducted on the prevention and care of DR among primary care physicians. Furthermore, an exploratory multicenter study that involves primary care physicians belonging to all ministries and private sectors is warranted.

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The Awareness and Attitude of General Dentists on Dental Implants Follow-up

Journal of Arak University of Medical Sciences ◽

10.32598/jams.24.2.6209.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 268-277

Author(s):

Seyyed Mehrzad Shaddel ◽

◽

Masoud Bayat ◽

Mojtaba Bayani ◽

Vahideh Nazari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dental Implants ◽

Work Experience ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Average Score ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Significance Level ◽

General Dentists

Background and Aim: Considering the increasing use of dental implants in replacing lost teeth, the odds of failure over time in this treatment are inevitable, as with other dental treatments; thus, it requires careful and regular follow-up. Accordingly, the present study aimed to evaluate the awareness and attitude of general dentists about the follow-up of the dental implants to create baseline information to schedule future workshops concerning dental implants. Methods & Materials: In this analytic cross-sectional study, 98 general dentists of Arak City, Iran were evaluated. Questionnaires were designed in 3 sections, as follows: demographic, awareness, and attitude. After checking the validity and reliability of the questionnaires, they were distributed among the research participants. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, Chi-squared test, and Independent Samples t-tests. The significance level was considered 0.05. Ethical Considerations: This article was approved by the Ethics Committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.ARAKMU.REC.1397.283). Results: The average score of awareness of the questionnaires was equal to 10.8 (based on the score of 0-19); the mean score of attitude was measured as 12.8 (based on the score of 7-21). Fifty-Three of the explored dentists had performed implant treatment, whose awareness and attitude toward implants follow-up were significantly higher than those of the dentists who did not perform such treatment (P=0.0001). Work experience presented no significant effect on the examined dentists’ awareness and attitude (P>0.05). Conclusion: General dentists have low awareness and attitude about implant follow-up. Follow-up plays an important role in the long-term success of implant therapy; therefore, dental education/retraining programs should be reviewed in this field.

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Self-management Education in Type 2 Diabetes in Primary Care

Folia Medica ◽

10.3897/folmed.62.e48558. ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 62 (3) ◽

pp. 525-531

Author(s):

Oleksii Korzh

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Management Education ◽

Management Training ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Self Management ◽

Average Score ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Self Monitoring

Introduction: Diabetes self-management education (DSME) is defined as a systematic intervention involving active participation of the individual in self-monitoring of health parameters and/or decision making using knowledge and skills. The goal of DSME is to create opportunities for people with diabetes to be informed and motivated to continuously participate in effective methods and methods of self-monitoring of diabetes. Aim: To evaluate the quality of DSME provided by primary care physicians to people with diabetes mellitus. Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 primary care physicians. The quality of diabetes self-management training provided by physicians was assessed on a personal scale of 39 Likert questions obtained from the American Association of Diabetes Educators in seven areas of diabetes self-monitoring. The Cronbach’s reliability coefficient for each domain/subscale was ≥ 0.7. The data were analysed using an independent selective t-test and one-way ANOVA. Results: More than half of the doctors provided “inadequate quality” of diabetes self-management in all areas. Doctors had the highest average score in the domain of “drug intake” (4.46±0.61). Average scores in the “problem-solving domain” (3.52±0.63) and “being active domain” (3.46±0.75) were low. The quality of DSME provided by physicians was not related to any of the characteristics of the physician. Conclusion: The quality of doctors’ communication on DSME in this study was suboptimal. Most adequately informed cases of diabetic behaviour associated with self-management have been associated with reduced risk factors and an orientation towards disease. Thus, training of primary care physicians in diabetic self-management is recommended because of the key role that these doctors play in managing diabetes.

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Knowledge, attitude and practice of evidence-based medicine among primary care practitioners in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044372 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. e044372

Author(s):

Mat Nawi Zanaridah ◽

Mohd Noor Norhayati ◽

Zakaria Rosnani

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Evidence Based Medicine ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Primary Care Practitioner ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Primary Care Practitioners ◽

Based Medicine

ObjectivesTo determine the level of knowledge and practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) and the attitudes towards it and to identify the factors associated with its practice among primary care practitioners in Selangor, Malaysia.SettingThis cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected health clinics in Selangor. Data were collected from primary care physicians using self-administered questionnaires on knowledge, practice and attitudes regarding EBM.ParticipantsThe study included 225 respondents working in either government or private clinics. It excluded house officers and those working in public and private universities or who were retired from practice.ResultsA total of 32.9% had a high level of EBM knowledge, 12% had a positive attitude towards EBM and 0.4% had a good level of its practice. The factors significantly associated with EBM practice were ethnicity, attitude, length of work experience as a primary care practitioner and quick access to online reference applications on mobile phones.ConclusionsAlthough many physicians have suboptimal knowledge of EBM and low levels of practising it, majority of them have a neutral attitude towards EBM practice. Extensive experience as a primary care practitioner, quick access to online references on a mobile phone and good attitude towards EBM were associated with its practice.

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Competency of health workers in detecting and managing gestational hypertension, pre-eclampsia, severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia during antenatal check-ups in primary care health facilities in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046638 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. e046638

Author(s):

Sk Masum Billah ◽

Abdullah Nurus Salam Khan ◽

S M Rokonuzzaman ◽

Nafisa Lira Huq ◽

Marufa Aziz Khan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Health Workers ◽

Gestational Hypertension ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

P Value ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Hypertensive Disorders Of Pregnancy ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Hypertensive Disorders ◽

Care Facilities

Study objectiveTo evaluate the competency of trained health workers in detecting and managing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy during routine antenatal check-ups (ANCs) at primary care facilities in Bangladesh.Study design and settingsCross-sectional study; conducted in 26 primary care facilities.Outcome measuresAccurate diagnosis of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.MethodIn total 1560 ANC consultations provided by primary health workers, known as Family Welfare Visitors (FWVs), were observed using a structured checklist between October 2017 and February 2018. All consultations were reassessed by study physicians for validation.ResultOf the ‘true’ cases of gestational hypertension (n=32), pre-eclampsia (n=29) and severe pre-eclampsia (n=16), only 3%, 7% and 25%, respectively, were correctly diagnosed by FWVs. Per cent agreement for the diagnosed cases of any hypertensive disorders of pregnancy was 9% and kappa statistics was 0.50 (p value 0.0125). For identification of any hypertensive disorders by FWVs, sensitivity and positive predictive values were 14% and 50%, respectively. There was a moderate positive correlation between the blood pressure measurements taken by FWVs and study physicians. Only 27% of those who had ‘some protein’ in urine were correctly identified by FWVs. Women diagnosed with any of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy by FWVs were more likely to be counselled on at least one danger sign of pre-eclampsia (severe headache, blurring of vision and upper abdominal pain) than those without any such diagnosis (41% vs 19%, p value 0.008). All four cases of severe pre-eclampsia diagnosed by FWVs were given a loading dose of intramuscular magnesium sulphate and three among them were referred to a higher facility.ConclusionThe FWVs should be appropriately trained on risk assessment of pregnant women with particular emphasis on accurately assessing the diagnostic criteria of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and its management.

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Managing the Return to Football During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of the Head Team Physicians of the Football Bowl Subdivision Programs

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/2325967121992045 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 232596712199204

Author(s):

Alexander D. Slabaugh ◽

John W. Belk ◽

Jonathan C. Jackson ◽

Richard J. Robins ◽

Eric C. McCarty ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

National Collegiate Athletic Association ◽

College Football ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Return To Play ◽

World Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Football Bowl Subdivision ◽

Health Organization

Background: COVID-19 is a severe respiratory virus that spreads via person-to-person contact through respiratory droplets. Since being declared a pandemic in early March 2020, the World Health Organization had yet to release guidelines regarding the return of college or professional sports for the 2020-2021 season. Purpose: To survey the head orthopedic surgeons and primary care team physicians for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football teams so as to gauge the management of common COVID-19 issues for the fall 2020 college football season. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: The head team orthopaedic surgeons and primary care physicians for all 130 FBS football teams were surveyed regarding their opinions on the management of college football during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 30 questions regarding testing, return-to-play protocol, isolating athletes, and other management issues were posed via email survey sent on June 5, 2020. Results: Of the 210 team physicians surveyed, 103 (49%) completed the questionnaire. Overall, 36.9% of respondents felt that it was unsafe for college athletes to return to playing football during fall 2020. While the majority of football programs (96.1%) were testing athletes for COVID-19 as they returned to campus, only 78.6% of programs required athletes to undergo a mandatory quarantine period before resuming involvement in athletic department activities. Of the programs that were quarantining their players upon return to campus, 20% did so for 1 week, 20% for 2 weeks, and 32.9% quarantined their athletes until they had a negative COVID-19 test. Conclusion: While US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines evolve and geographic regions experience a range of COVID-19 infections, determining a universal strategy for return to socialization and participation in sports remains a challenge. The current study highlighted areas of consensus and strong agreement, but the results also demonstrated a need for clarity and consistency in operations, leadership, and guidance for medical professionals in multiple areas as they attempt to safely mitigate risk for college football players amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The study on knowledge-attitude-practice of primary care physician toward anticoagulants therapy in Non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients in Shanghai of China

10.21203/rs.2.20341/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Shasha Ye ◽

Tianhao Wang ◽

Arthur Liu ◽

Ying Yu ◽

Zhigang Pan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Primary Care ◽

Work Experience ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Care Physician ◽

Bachelor's Degree ◽

Cluster Sampling ◽

Primary Role ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Positive Attitudes

Abstract Background As the large number of CHS centers in China face the majority of NVAF patients, primary care physicians (PCPs) play the primary role in the prevention of embolization. Therefore, an awareness of anticoagulant management in NVAF patients must be brought into focus among PCPs in China. This study will help primary care physicians (PCPs) increase their awareness of oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy for non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) to prevent embolization.Method This was a cross-sectional observational study of 462 PCPs in community health service (CHS) centers across Shanghai. We used a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from September to December 2017. A stratified random cluster sampling was adopted in the 90 CHS centers with the family medicine residency program.Result Among 462 participants, 69.3% (320/462) of females with a medical bachelor’s degree and more than 10 years of work experience predominated in the 30 to 49 years of age group. The mean score for “knowledge,” “attitude” and “practices” of OAC therapy in NVAF patients among PCPs was 3.68±2.752, 53.62±7.148, and 37.63±10.336, respectively. The level of knowledge of OAC therapy in NVAF patients among PCPs was insufficient in over half (75.8%) of participants. The majority (89.8%) of PCPs had a positive attitude and 68.0% had modest performance in the anticoagulant management of NVAF patients.Conclusion The knowledge and behaviors of PCPs were insufficient in OAC therapy to prevent embolization in NVAF patients. The study also revealed the positive attitudes of participants, and their desire to learn the latest knowledge of OAC therapy.

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Sources of psychological distress among primary care physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic’s first wave in Spain: a cross-sectional study

Primary Health Care Research & Development ◽

10.1017/s1463423621000566 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 ◽

Author(s):

Ana Cebrián-Cuenca ◽

José Joaquín Mira ◽

Elena Caride-Miana ◽

Antonio Fernández-Jiménez ◽

Domingo Orozco-Beltrán

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Multivariate Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Protective Measures

Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people worldwide. In Spain, the first wave was especially severe. Objectives: This study aimed to identify sources and levels of distress among Spanish primary care physicians (PCPs) during the first wave of the pandemic (April 2020). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a survey that included sociodemographic data, a description of working conditions related to distress [such as gaps in training in protective measures, cleaning, and hygiene procedures in work setting, unavailability of personal protective equipments (PPEs) and COVID-19 RT-PCR test, and lack of staff due to be infected] and a validated scale, the ‘Self-applied Acute Stress Scale’ (EASE). The survey was answered by a non-probability sampling of PCPs working in family healthcare centres from different regions of Spain. Analysis of variance and multivariate linear regression analysis were performed. Results: In all, out of 518 PCP participants, 123 (23.7%) obtained high psychological distress scores. Only half of them had received information about the appropriate use of PPE. PCP characteristics associated with higher levels of distress include female gender [1.69; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.54, 2.84]; lack of training in protective measures (1.96; 95% CI 0.94, 2.99); unavailable COVID-19 RT-PCR for health care workers after quarantine or COVID-19 treatment (−0.77 (−1.52, −0.02). Reinforcing disinfection of the work environment (P < 0.05), availability of PPEs (P < 0.05), and no healthcare professional was infected (P < 0.05) were related to the lowest distress score. Conclusions: A better understanding of the sources of distress among PCPs could prevent its effect on future outbreaks.

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Assessment of the factors influencing primary care physicians’ approach to vaccination of adult risk groups in Istanbul, Turkey

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.7516 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. e7516

Author(s):

Fatma Yılmaz Karadağ ◽

Zuhal Aydan Sağlam

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Medical Training ◽

Risk Group ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Demographical Data ◽

Adult Immunization

Background We aimed to assess the factors influencing primary care physicians’ (PCPs) approach to adult vaccination in specific risk groups and evaluate the compliance to adult immunization guidelines. Methods This cross-sectional study performed between January 2016 and April 2016 in İstanbul, Turkey. A questionnaire designed to obtain physicians’ demographical data, experience, immunization status, and attitude on prescribing or recommending vaccines for adults in the risk group. Healthy individuals older than 65 and patients suffer from chronic diseases or had splenectomy before are considered as a risk group. The questionnaire was sent via email to a randomly selected group of 1,500 PCPs. The data of 221 physicians who responded emails were recorded for statistical analysis. Results Of the 221 participants (123 women, 98 men), the majority were aged 31–40 years. Their vaccination rates were 74.2% for hepatitis B, 54.3% for seasonal influenza, and 47.1% for tetanus. Among participants, the highest recommendation and prescription rate of adult vaccines was recorded in PCPs aged 31–40 years. In addition, PCPs with <10 years occupational experience were found to prescribe adult vaccines more frequently than PCPs with longer occupational experience. Conclusions Primary care physicians with lower age and relatively less experience are more intent to prescribe adult vaccines to patients that are in risk groups. This result may be due to increased awareness of adult immunization among PCPs who had more recent medical training. However, many other factors could have caused this difference, including physicians’ approach to primary medical care.

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