Knowledge, attitudes and practices among religious students concerning family planning

To determine the knowledge, attitude and practices concerning family planning of students attending religious schools in Lebanon, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 450 male and female students. A validated structured questionnaire was completed by the students. The majority of the students [65%] had a moderate level of knowledge, males more than females, but females had more positive beliefs and attitudes. More females agreed with family planning programmes and methods than males, but 35% had a negative attitude to family planning; a significant percentage had negative attitudes to contraceptive methods based on their view that they are not allowed [haram] in Islam. Among the married students, less than 40% used a family planning method; of those, the majority used a female method. Religion plays an important role in the health behaviour of religious students. Religious leaders can therefore inhibit or promote family planning, which will affect the success of family planning programmes. Thus, they should be included in the development and promotion of family planning programmes

Impact of health education on community knowledge, attitudes and behaviour towards solid waste management in Al Ghobeiry, Beirut

The risks posed by accumulation of solid waste are most obvious in developing countries, where waste collection and treatment is often inadequate. This study aimed to determine the impact of a health education intervention [based on lectures and focus group discussions] on community knowledge, attitudes and behaviours concerning solid waste management in Al Ghobeiry, Beirut. A randomly selected sample of 320 inhabitants were divide into intervention and control groups who completed the same questionnaire in the pre- and post-intervention phases. Compared with the control group the intervention group, who attended the health education sessions, showed: significantly better knowledge about the problems of and diseases spread by accumulation of solid waste; better attitudes to management of solid waste collection; and improved practices in terms of handling and recycling of household waste. There was an observed increased participation by people in cleaning campaigns and voluntary work in all the municipality activities

Prevalence and pattern of menstrual disorders among Lebanese nursing students

Menstrual disorders frequently affect the quality of life of adolescents and young adult women and can be indicators of serious underlying problems. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of menstrual symptoms among nursing students in Beirut, Lebanon. Of 352 students completinga written questionnaire, the most common menstrual disorders were irregular frequency of menstruation [80.7%] premenstrual syndrome [54.0%], irregular duration of menstruation [43.8%], dysmenorrhoea [38.1%], polymenorrhoea [37.5%] and oligomenorrhoea [19.3%]. On logistic regression analysis, there were significant associations between irregular cycles and marital status [OR 2.18] and menarcheal age [OR 4.76]; oligomenorrhoea and residency [OR 2.06] and menarcheal age [OR 3.17]; abnormal blood loss and menarcheal age [OR 6.92]; dysmenorrhoea and marital status [OR 8.93] and residency [OR 2.04]; and premenstrual syndrome and marital status [OR 2.10]. Dysmenorrhoea and premenstrual symptoms were serious enough to affect daily activities or academic attendance in many cases and this is a concern for policy-makers