Evaluating the impact of health promoting school initiative on dietary habits and BMI of students in Oman

This study aimed at evaluating health promoting schools [HPS] initiative carried out on a sample of schools from all regions in Oman. The evaluation sought to assess the impact of the initiative on students' dietary behavior and body mass index [BMI]. The static group comparison design was employed. The study was conducted in 15 health promoting schools comprising grades eight and nine and 15 matching conventional schools [CS]. A total sample of 1535 students [752 intervention group-HPS, 783 comparison group-CS] participated in the study. The self administered questionnaire directed to students was used to collect data. Weight and height of each student were measured and BMI was calculated. Male students in HPS showed significant favorable behavior than those in CS regarding eating fruits, consuming fast food and soft drinks. On the other hand, female students in HPS showed significant favorable behavior than those in CS regarding eating breakfast and vegetables. Male and female students in HPS showed significantly higher mean total dietary behavior score than male and female students in CS. Lower percentage of HPS male students were underweight and obese compared to students from CS with significant difference. Positive changes in students' dietary behaviors were achieved by adopting the health promoting school initiatives with obvious difference between male and female students. Expansion of HPS initiative to other schools in Oman is recommended. Innovative nutrition program need to be developed and implemented by HPS to further impact eating behaviors and nutritional status of school chi1dren Given the differences in the effectiveness of HPS initiative between male and female students, there is a need to develop and evaluate separate interventions for each of them

effect of a training program in communication skills on primary health care physicians' knowledge, attitudes and self-efficacy

Communication has been identified as one of the core clinical skills for all health care providers, but it is especially important for primary health care disciplines. Findings suggest the need for more attention to communication skills in continued physician education. This work aims at evaluating the effect of a communication skills training program on physicians1 knowledge, attitude and self efficacy related to communication. In this pretest- posttest intervention study, a three-day, 18-hour training program was developed and implemented. The teaching method was learner-centered and includes theoretical information, practical applications and attitude change. A self administered questionnaire was used to evaluate the program. The results showed significant improvement in physicians' knowledge about communication where those having good knowledge increased from 13.1% before the intervention to 82% after the intervention. Physicians reported significantly higher confidence levels in their ability to build rapport with patients, counsel patients for smoking cessation and medication adherence after the intervention. Overall, in this study we found that training in communication skills improves clinicians' knowledge, changes some negative attitudes and enhances assessment of physicians' own ability to perform specific communication tasks

Health related quality of life of hemodialysis patients in Oman

Health related quality of life [HRQoL] is now widely accepted as an important indicator of end stage renal disease [ESRD] patient outcome. This work aimed to assess different dimensions of HRQoL of hemodialysis patients and to determine factors associated with poor quality of life. A cross sectional study was carried out on 175 ESRD hemodialysis patients attending renal dialysis units affiliated to MoH in Oman. An interview questionnaire was used to collect data about personal characteristics, disease related data and HRQoL which was assessed using the Arabic version of Short Form 36 health survey [SF 36] which is a 36-item, generic instrument that measures health-related quality of life by addressing eight dimensions. The results revealed that the majority of patients had been on hemodialysis for less than five years, 74.3% were on regular thrice weekly sessions and 58.9% had co-morbid conditions. The lowest mean score among the eight SF 36 domains was for "role limitation due to physical problems domain" [33.7 +/- 40.10] and highest for the "mental health domain" [60.3 +/- 17.86]. All mean scores of SF 36 domains were higher among male patients than females. Older age and lower education were significantly associated with lower mean scores of bodily pain domain. Lower income was significantly associated with lower mean scores in most domains. No association was found between SF 36 domains and either the length of time the patients had been on dialysis or frequency of dialysis per week. Having co-morbid condition was significantly associated with a decrease in the mean scores of physical functioning and social functioning domains. Mean scores of SF 36 domains varied among different dialysis units. The predictors of Physical Component Summary [PCS] were patients' income, marital status, dialysis unit, and having co-morbid condition, while predictors of Mental Component Summary [MCS] were dialysis unit, income and having co-morbid condition. The mean scores of most of the domains and the two components summaries [PCS and MCS] of SF 36 are higher in Omani patients on hemodialysis than those in other communities indicating better perceived HRQoL. Higher HRQoL domain scores were associated with higher income, better education and male gender, while lower scores were associated with co-morbid conditions, older age and being divorced or widow. The disparity in patients' HRQoL among the studied dialysis units needs to be thoroughly examined