Smoking intervention programme for male secondary-school students in south-western Saudi Arabia

A one-day antismoking programme was conducted for 289 students in a male secondary school in Abha, Saudi Arabia. The one-group pretest/post-test design to evaluate the programme was based on an Arabic version of the WHO standard questionnaire for young people. The results showed that the prevalence rate of regular smoking was 14.5%. The students showed marked variability in correct responses to various factual items. The programme had a significant impact on nonsmokers [P < 0.01] and prespecialty students [P < 0.01]. With the exception of smokers, the students showed an overall positive attitude towards public action, but the impact of the one-day programme was less than satisfactory

Road traffic accidents in Asir region, Saudi Arabia: Pattern and prevention

This study aimed at identifying the pattern and magnitude of road traffic accidents in Asir Region-the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia. Data were obtained from Asir Region main traffic office. The records of road traffic accidents for 3 years, 1989-1991, were reviewed. The pattern of accidents in Asir in the last year [1991] was compared with those in the different regions of the kingdom in the same year. Data were presented and analysed using statistical tests such as X[2] and confidence intervals. In all, 2867 road traffic accidents were recorded in the study period involving 4000 vehicles. The individuals involved were 7759 persons of whom 61.7% were injured, 11.3% died and 26.5% sustained no injury. The accident severity rates in Asir Region were generally higher than those in other regions of the kingdom. and recommendation: This study revealed that road traffic accidents are an important problem in Asir Region. This was confirmed by the high accident fatality and injury rates. Several factors such as speeding and the age of drivers were considered as contributing variables for those high rates. Although the traffic records cover many points they missed some important items such as use of seat belts and the educational level of drivers. Based on the results some recommendations were made to minimize the occurrence and consequences of road traffic accidents

Growth pattern of Saudi schoolboys in a high-altitude area of Saudi Arabia

The aim of the present study was to examine the growth of schoolboys in a high-altitude area of Saudi Arabia, and to investigate the appropriateness of using the US National Center for Health Statistics [NCHS] standards for the assessment of children's growth in such areas. The study concluded that the use of NCHS standards is not appropriate for the assessment of growth of schoolboys in Asir Region. Further studies are needed to determine whether the findings of this study are altitude-dependent or not

Hearing loss and other ear problems among school boys in Abha, Saudi Arabia

The aim of this work was to determine the prevalence of hearing loss [HL] and its association with different ear problems among schoolboys in Abha City, Asir Region, Saudi Arabia. A representative sample of 974 schoolboys ages six to 12 years were subjected to both audiometric and otoscopic examinations. Audiometric examination identified 43 children with HL [40 conductive and three sensorineural], making a prevalence of 4.4% [1.7% mild, 2% moderate and 0.7% severe HL]. Otoscopic examination revealed ear problems among 26.9% of schoolboys with the following prevalences: wax [21.3%], acute otitis media [1.9%], chronic otitis media [1.0%], foreign body [0.7%], otitis externa [0.7%], and congenital anomaly of the auricle [0.4%]. Impacted wax accounted for reversible HL among a quarter [25.6%] of the hearing impaired children, whereas chronic otitis media accounted for 11.6%; acute otitis media 9.3%; otitis media with effusion, foreign body and congenital anomaly of the auricle each accounted for 2.3%. A significantly higher frequency of HL was detected among children with otitis media than among children without ear conditions [29.4% vs. 2.8%, M3.01]. The prevalence of HL among Abha schoolboys was comparable to that in developed countries, but was lower than that in developing countries. Such prevalence was mostly caused by impacted wax and otitis media. Thus, attention should be given to regular screening for early detection and removal of the impacted wax for correcting the high prevalence of reversible HL due to such conditions. Children of low social class should be regarded as a high risk group for whom regular hearing screening is recommended