Knowledge of tuberculosis among medical professionals and university students in Oman

This study in Oman investigated knowledge about tuberculosis among 142 medics [medical students, paramedics] and 133 non-medics [arts and social science students]. Knowledge was assessed using a validated questionnaire with 28 statements on general knowledge, risk factors and diagnosis of tuberculosis. As expected, tuberculosis knowledge was significantly higher among medics but there was no significant difference between men and women. Although medics had better knowledge in general, some of the technical statements were answered correctly by higher proportions of non-medics

Psychological morbidity in primary health care in Oman. A preliminary study

To study the applicability of simple field measurements of physical fitness in a sample of Omani boys and their relationships to selected variables. Two field measures of physical fitness-the time to complete 1.6-km run/walk and the sum of 5 skin fold thicknesses-were correlated with personal and family physical activity-related and other variables in a sample of 109 Omani boys aged 9-11 years. Obesity in parents, especially in the mother, showed significant correlation with both fitness measures. The waist/buttocks ratio showed no significant correlation with the 1.6-km time. The number of siblings and siblings sharing a room, number of T.V-watching hours and the number of servants in the family showed no correlation with the chosen fitness indices. The results of this pilot study indicate that simple field fitness tests can be used in children and they can yield valuable information related to physical fitness. The same protocol used in this study could be applied to a national study in Oman