effect of anemia on pregnancy and fetal outcome: GMC hospital, Ajman, UAE

Objective: Anemia in pregnancy is a major public health problem globally. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of anemia on pregnancy and its effect on fetal outcome in mothers attending OPD in GMC Ajman, UAE

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from the records of 100 mothers with anemia and 100 non-anemic mothers who had delivered in the past 2 years at GMC Hospital, Ajman. Details of the mother and the newborn were collected in data extraction forms. Chi square test was done for associations. T-test est was done to compare mean values. P value <0.05 was considered as significant

Results: Anemia was more common among women

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that there are more cases of mild anemia, the rate of caesarian section was higher and the mean birth weight of the baby is lower in anemic mothers. It is recommended that cases of anemia should be diagnosed early and be undergoing immediate management to prevent any further complications

assessment of eating habits among health science students with family history of hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus in Ajman, UAE

To assess eating habits practice, healthy diet knowledge and BMI of students with a family history [FH] of Diabetes Mellitus [DM] and/or Hypertension [HT] in Ajman, UAE. A cross-sectional survey using a self -administered questionnaire, was done among 245 health sciences students of Gulf Medical University Ajman U.A.E. Information on socio demographic variables, family history [FH] of hypertension [HT] and diabetes mellitus [DM], eating habits and 'healthy diet knowledge' and BMI was collected. Data was analyzed using the SPSS program Of the 245 students surveyed 31% of had a FH of DM and 38% had a FH of HT. More than half of the participants with FH of DM or HT practiced healthy eating habits 73%, compared to 60% of those with FH of HT. Arab students were more likely to have poor diet knowledge [20% compared to 8% of Asians], the BMI of Arabs was also higher with 9% obese compared to 2% of Asians. 33% of males had increased BMI compared to 19% of females. Individuals with positive family history of diabetes mellitus who were unaware of their risk were 17%, compared to 27% of those with FH of HT. 33% of students with FH of DM and 27% of those with a FH of HT were overweight/obese whilst only 13% of students with no FH of either were overweight. Individuals with a FH of DM had better eating habits, and awareness of risk than those with a FH of HT. Arab ethnicity showed significantly poor dietary knowledge associated with reducing risk of obesity, along with a significant increase in BMI over other ethnicities and a corresponding tendency to underestimate their BMI. Enhanced health education curriculum is necessary in UAE with a focus on exercise and portion control

Learning styles and teaching/learning preferences of pre-clinical medical students in Ajman, U.A.E

To identify the various learning styles adopted by the students of GMU and determine how these affect their preference of the various teaching-learning methods. A cross sectional study of 157 preclinical students of Gulf Medical University in Ajman, U.A.E. was performed. A standardized self-administered "VARK" [Visual, Aural, Read/write, Kinesthetic] questionnaire was used to determine the learning styles of participants. The preferred as well as alternative teaching-learning methods constituted the second part of the questionnaire. Approximately 53.5% of the participants were multi-modal learners. Kinesthetic learners were more prevalent in higher age groups [38.l%] and year 3 medical students [23.2%], while auditory learners were found mostly in lower age groups, year 1 [13.5%] and year 2 [20%]. 64 .5% of the participants preferred Clinical Skills making it the most preferred, while the least preferred was [Computer Assisted Learning] CAL with just 9.9% of the participants. 84 out of 157 learners were Multi-Modal, 54 of whom showed preference to Lectures and 49 to CBL/PBL/SDL [Case Based Learning, Problem Based Learning and Self Directed Learning]. Auditory learners also preferred Lectures, while self-directed learning methods were preferred by a significant number of kinesthetic learners. Especially Visual and Auditory learners least preferred CAL and Seminars. Most of the learners preferred Labs/Clinical skills for Normal and Abnormal Gross and Microscopic Structure. Around 50% of the participants preferred Lectures for the remaining content areas. Two-Thirds of the participants preferred studying alone, citing that they were able to maintain focus and operate at a preferred pace when they studied alone. The remainder, who preferred studying in a group stated motivation and assistance from fellow peers as their main reasons for this approach. The study concluded that students of all learning styles preferred lectures and did not prefer seminars and CALs generally. Most of the students had a multi-modal learning style. Further studies can be conducted to determine any other associations between learning styles and teaching-learning methods

Factors associated with dental caries in patients attending GMU dental centers in UAE

To determine the frequency and factors that affect dental caries and its association with oral hygiene practice in the participants. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 246 patients attending the OPDs in GMC hospital, Ajman and Sharjah using an interviewer administered questionnaire. After collecting data, participants had been educated on oral hygiene practice. Data was entered on MS excel and coded on Statistics Program for Social Science [SPSS]. Data had been analyzed with SPSS program and presented in percentage tables and graphs chi square test was done for associations. 57% of the participants had dental caries, 57.2% of the males and 59.2% females had caries. Marital status has a significant effect on dental caries, between the married and unmarried; 64.7% of married and 47.9% of unmarried participants had dental caries. In the two major occupation categories more laborers [62.6%] had dental caries when compared with those having office jobs [52.3%]. Frequency of caries was 50.5% for insured participants and 63.6% for un-insured participants 46.3% of patients with dental caries have regular visits to a dentist, whereas 61.4% had dental caries in which they don't have regular visits. Beverage intake has a significant effect on dental caries; in which 61.1% of patients have dental caries and 38.9% of patients have no dental caries. Smoking and non-smoking participants had equal percent of dental caries. Three fourths of the participants that did not receive education on oral hygiene practice have dental caries In conclusion, dental caries was seen in more than half of the patients who attended GMU/ OPD centers. Participants who had regular visits to the dentist had lower incidence of dental caries that indicates the need for education on oral hygiene practices and preventive care in this population

Prevalence and factors related to low birth weight in a tertiary hospital in Ajman UAE

To estimate the prevalence of low birth weight infants born in GMC hospital Ajman [JAN 2011-DEC 2013] and identify the maternal and fetal risk factors for the low birth weight. A record based study was done in Gulf Medical College Hospital and Research Center, Ajman UAE. The study included records of all neonates born with low birth weight in GMC Hospital from Jan 2011-Dec 2012. Tool for data collection was prepared and content validated by subject experts from department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Community medicine; the tool included maternal and fetal factors. Data was collected after getting approval from ethics committee. All the data obtained was then entered into Excel spread sheet and analyzed using SPSS 20 software. The frequency of low birth weight [LBW] was approximately 20/1000 live births of which 96% were low birth weight and 4% very low birth weight. A high percentage of LBW babies were born to women of the group 20-34 years and most of them were unemployed. Of the mothers who had a low birth weight baby 47% had 3-5 children, 35% had previous abortions, 47% had anemia, 41% hypertension and 25% had ante partum hemorrhage. 71.7% of LBW were preterm and most of them were a result of a single birth, 12% of the LBW babies were born with some disability and 47% required admission in an NICU. Mode of delivery was by Caesarian-section in 58% of the deliveries. Interventions to improve care during pregnancy, childbirth and the post natal period as well as feeding are likely to improve the immediate and longer -term health and well-being of the newborn and have a significant impact on neonatal and infant mortality at a population level

Arthritis among patients attending GMC hospital, Ajman, UAE: a cross sectional survey

To assess the frequency and contributing factors of arthritis among patients in GMC hospital, Ajman, UAE. A cross sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted in 304 patients attending the Out-patient departments of GMC hospital. Variables included socio -demographic variables, type and location of arthritis, aggravating and relieving factors. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20. Chi square test was done for associations, p value less than 0.05 is considered to be significant. The total number of patients surveyed 17.4% had arthritis, 18.8% of males and 13.4% of females had arthritis. Patients with the highest BMI had the highest frequency of arthritis [20.4%]. Arthritis was seen in 31.9% of smokers 11.0% of non-smokers highest frequency of arthritis was seen in UAE nationals. The frequency of arthritis increased with increasing age. The most common type of the disease was osteoarthritis at 47.1%. Knee was the most common site of arthritis. The workers in the skilled category had the highest percentage of arthritis. Pain was reported as the most common symptom amongst Arthritis patients. The most common exercise among arthritis patients was walking. The most common aggravating factor was changing position and the least common was temperature. The most common relieving factor was rest and the least common was medication. Among the different management therapies for our arthritis patients, the most commonly used therapy Analgesics. The frequency of arthritis was in about one fifth of our patients. Arthritis was more among smokers and obese individuals. These risk factors can be modified by increasing awareness among patients

Comparison of readiness for self-directed learning in students experiencing two different curricula in one medical school

The study was done to compare the readiness for self-directed learning between students experiencing conventional curriculum and those experiencing integrated organ system based curriculum at the end three years of medical training. A Quasi-experimental Posttest only study was conducted among students of College of Medicine. Students of the last batch of the Conventional curriculum and the first batch of the new IOSBC participated in the study. Data was collected using the Self Directed Learning Readiness Scale/ learning preference assessment instrument [SDLRS-A/ LPA] ; an instrument with a reliability coefficient of 0.87. The study included 33 [49%] students from the new IOSB curriculum and 46 [58%] from the conventional curriculum; 28 [35%] males and 51 [65%] females. The overall mean from SDLRS score was 214 +/- 25.7 which is consistent with the mean scores reported for general adult learners. The mean SDLRS score was higher among the students in the conventional curriculum 216.9 +/- 28.6 and 37% had above average SDLRS-A/LPA scores when compared to those in IOSBC where the mean score was 211 +/- 21.09 and 27% had above average scores however this difference was not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in the scores of males and females. SDLRS scores were compared in students from different high school curricula and the Wilcoxon rank sum test showed that students from the American curriculum had significantly higher scores than those following other curricula. The overall SDLRS-A/ LPA score is similar to the mean scores reported for general adult learners and the study found no difference in the readiness for self directed learning between medical students experiencing conventional curriculum and those experiencing integrated organ system based curriculum