Emergency contraception: awareness, attitudes and barriers of Saudi Arabian Women

Objectives: To assess knowledge, attitude, and barriers about emergency contraception [EC] among married women of child bearing age

Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted over a 6-month period, commencing in March 2013 at Family Practice Clinics of King Khalid University Hospital [KKUH], Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using a structured pretested questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 statistical software

Result: A total of 242 women were enrolled in the study. Only 6.2% [15/242] had some knowledge of EC and of these only two had ever used it. Health care professionals were the least reported source of EC information [6.6%, n=1]. Majority [73.3%] had negative attitude toward EC being available over-the-counter without a prescription. The most common barriers to using EC were concerns about possible health effects. Only two women [13.3%] considered religious belief as a major hindrance to its use

Conclusion: Awareness of emergency contraception is very low among women of Saudi Arabia. Health care professionals were the least reported source of information, which is a cause for concern. Our findings reveal an urgent need to educate women about EC, keeping in view the social norms and the Islamic values

Evaluation of continuing professional development program for family physicians

Objectives: To evaluate the King Saud University Continuing Professional Development [CPD] Program for Family Physicians in relation to the Convenience, Relevance, Individualization, Self-Assessment, Interest, Speculation and Systematic [CRISIS] criteria

Methodology: A descriptive study was conducted at King Saud University [KSU] in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The authors used the six strategies of Convenience, Relevance, Individualization, Self-Assessment, Interest, Speculation and Systematic [CRISIS] for evaluation. The program was independently analyzed by the three authors using CRISIS framework. The results were synthesized. The suggestions were discussed and agreed upon and documented

Results: The results indicate that KSU-CPD program meets the CRISIS criteria for effective continuing professional development and offers a useful approach to learning. The course content covers specific areas of practice, but some shortcomings were found that need to be improved like self assessment area and individual learning needs analysis

Conclusion: This program is suitable for Family Physicians, as it is well planned and utilizes most of the principles of CRISIS, but there is still room for improvement. Designing a program for general practitioners using hybrid model that offers a blend of e-learning as well as face-to-face learning opportunities would be an ideal solution