ABSTRACT
Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] and specific parental risk factors that may contribute to the development of ADHD in children
Methods: The study was conducted in Oman among fourth-grade students [aged nine to 10 years]. A standardized Arabic version of the National Initiative for Children's Health Quality Vanderbilt Assessment Scale [Teachers questionnaire] was used to determine the presence of ADHD. Parental factors such as socioeconomic status, education, and occupation were documented
Results: The prevalence rate of ADHD was 8.8%. Poor maternal education status, low familial socioeconomic status, and paternal occupation were significantly associated with an increased risk of ADHD
Conclusions: This was the first study that examined familial and parental characteristics of children with ADHD as potential risk factors for the condition. Such psychosocial factors could be employed to further the development of more proficient preventative measures and remedial services
ABSTRACT
Objectives: Frequent attenders [FAs] in general practice receive significant attention in primary care research due to the financial costs associated with the higher utilization of health care services. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of FAs in Oman by studying the overall rates of adult patient visits to primary health care centers [PHCs] and identify the characteristics of this group of patients
Methods: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study including all adults aged 18 years and above who visited general practitioner clinics at four selected PHCs in the A'Dakhiliyah governorate of Oman. Sociodemographic data and number of visits were extracted from the electronic medical records system
Results: A total number of 12 902 adult patients contributed to 42 425 patient visits, with the number of visits made by individual patients ranging from 1 to 62. FAs constituted 2.4% [n = 313] of the total subjects and made 5449 [12.8%] visits. The mean rate of visits per patient per year was 3.2, while the median was two visits. The overall rate of visits per day was more than two-times higher in females [79.6 per day] compared to males [36.6 per day] and was about five-times higher in female FA [12.3 vs. 2.6]
Conclusions: FAs represent a small proportion of patients attending PHCs in Oman. The proportion of females was higher among FAs and they also contributed to a higher number of visits to PHCs
ABSTRACT
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the Broselow[TM] Pediatric Emergency Tape [BT] for estimating weight in an Omani paediatric population at a tertiary care hospital
Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted during July 2015. The electronic medical records of Omani outpatients <14 years old attending the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, between July 2009 and June 2013 were reviewed for recorded height and weight data. The BT Version 2002A was used to predict weight based on actual height measurements. Predicted weight measurements were then compared with actual weight to determine the accuracy of the estimation
Results: A total of 3,339 children were included in the study, of which 43.5% were female and 56.5% were male. The mean age was 6.4 +/- 3.1 years and the mean height was 93.2 +/- 23.5 cm. The mean actual weight was 13.9 +/- 6.7 kg while the mean BT-predicted weight was 14.4 +/- 6.9 kg. The BT-predicted weight estimations correlated significantly with actual weight measurements [intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.97; P <0.001]. A Bland-Altman analysis indicated that the BT performed well when estimating weight among Omani children, with an overestimation of only 0.5 kg for the entire cohort
Conclusion: The BT was found to be an effective tool for estimating weight according to body length in an Omani paediatric population. It should therefore be considered for use in emergency situations when actual weight cannot be determined
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The role of personality in occupational specialty choices has been explored in many parts of the world. To our knowledge, there is a dearth of such studies in the Arab/Islamic population and Oman is no exception. This study aimed to explore the relationship between personality traits and specialty choice among residents of Oman Medical Specialty Board [OMSB]
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among Omani resident physicians working under OMSB. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised was employed to quantify personality subtypes [e.g., psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism]. Specialties were categorized as surgical, medical, and diagnostics as per standard of North American medical specialties. A total of 255 residents in 17 medical specialties participated in the study [m = 40.4%; f = 59.6%] of 300 eligible subjects giving a response rate of 85.0%. Results: Respondents who had chosen surgical specialties scored significantly higher on the psychoticism subscale than those who had opted for medical and diagnostic specialties
As for individual specialties, orthopedic respondents had statistically significant higher mean scores on psychoticism and neuroticism compared to radiologists and psychiatrists who scored the lowest in the two personality traits, respectively. Conclusions: This study found statistically significant associations between personality traits and choices of specialty by young Omani doctors. We recommend more detailed studies that examine further psychological and cultural variables that are likely to affect the choices of specializations by young Omani professionals in both medical and non-medical fields