Impact of a training program for family physicians on their knowledge and practice concerning acute respiratory infections in childern - Saudi Arabia

The objectives of the current study were to measure the impact of WHO training program concerning acute respiratory infections [ARIs] in children on the knowledge and practice of primary health care [PHC] physicians and to identify the obstacles of the implementation of the program. Two PHC centers were randomly chosen, one as an intervention and the other as a control to study the impact of the program. 25% of the prescriptions with the diagnosis of ARIs for children under five years of age were randomly chosen one month before and one month after the training program to analyze the prescribing rates of drugs. The medical records of children who were prescribed to take antibiotics were extracted and examined to assess the appropriateness of assessing children with ARIs and prescribing antibiotics. There was a significant improvement in the mean knowledge score of the doctors in the intervention PHC center after the program, a significant improvement in the appropriateness of assessing children with ARIs, a significant decrease in prescribing rate of antibiotics and a significant improvement in the appropriateness of prescribing antibiotics. The main organizational and behavioral problems against the sustainability of the program were the decreased community awareness of the program, the frequent unavailability of the essential drugs for the management of ARIs and overcrowded clinics

Morbidity patterns in study health problems for patients attending primary care clinics, King Faisal military hospital, Khamis Mushayt

To analyze morbidity patterns and rates for patients attending clinics affiliated to the Primary Health Care Department, King Faisal Military Hospital Khamis Mushayt. All patients [n=20745] who attended the primary health care clinics [n=10] during March 1992 were the subjects of the study. A special form was designed to collect daily data regarding age, sex, diagnosis, etc. Diseases were classified using the international classification of diseases, 9th revision [ICD-9]. Common conditions were defined in this study as diseases occurring in frequency of >/= 1.0% less common conditions >/= 0.5 - <1.0% and uncommon conditions >/= 0.1 - <0.5% of the total patients' visits. Nineteen diseases represented the most common conditions, 10 diseases represented the less common conditions and 31 diseases represented the uncommon conditions. Significant differences were found in the frequency of common conditions among males, females and children. This study provided data about common and less common health problems in primary health care clinics in certain Saudi communities. This data will provide a base for medical education and health service planning and for future comparison with other Saudi communities

Prevalence of skin diseases in rural area

The aim of this work is to estimate the prevalence of skin diseases, among the population in Om Meshak Hamlet in order to prepare a list of the most common skin diseases among such population. The subjects of this study were 1058 population constituting the total population in the hamlet, the results of the survey indicated that over two-thirds [72.5 percent] of the population had some sort of skin disorders. The most commonly encountered skin diseases detected in their order of prevalence are scabies [23.5 percent], pediculosis capitis [14.2 percent], piteyriasis alba [11.8 percent], impetigo [10.2 percent], acne vulgaris [4.7 percent], insect bite [4.6 percent], tinea [2.1 percent], papular urticaria [1.9 percent] and hyperkeratosis of the Palms and soles [1.6 percent]. Overcrowding, bad hygiene and environmental conditions had a major effect on the prevalence of skin diseases in this study