The awareness of water intake and its correlation with BMI among students attending national and international secondary schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Dehydration is linked to worse cognitive functions and preference for beverages that are linked to obesity and other health conditions. Saudi Arabia's hot climate can exacerbate these effects and it is important to ensure that children in the region understand the benefits of adequate water intake. To evaluate secondary school student perceptions and practices regarding water intake, investigate how water intake is related to BMI and school performance, and compare international schools to national schools. This cross-sectional study surveyed understanding and practices relating to water intake of national and international secondary school students using a questionnaire based on a random selection of schools and students. One-hundred and sixty-two students from international schools (I) and 157 from national schools (N) responded. Most were aged 16 and 17 years old (I:61.1%, N:76.5%, p = .005). The average BMI of all students was 24.9 ± 6.013 (I:23.6 ± 4.658, N:26.1 ± 6.931, p < 0.001). Students understood beverages do not replace water intake (I:80.2%, N:75.8%, p = .337) and preferred water when thirsty (I:77.8%, N:75.2%, p = .549). However, water consumption was low with more than 50% of students drinking less than 1500 ml a day (I:54.3%, N:70.7%, p = .002). A positive correlation between BMI and water intake was observed only among international school students. Students have inadequate water intake despite understanding the importance of hydration. There are some differences between international school students and national school students that can be attributed to the availability and sources of water, though other factors cannot be excluded.

Willingness and Self-Perceived Competence of Final-Year Medical Students to Work as Part of the Healthcare Workforce During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may increase demand for healthcare professionals (HCPs), either because of a HCP shortage due to illness or because of the need to increase surge capacity. Final-year medical students are one of the resources potentially available to expand the workforce. There is a need to explore the willingness of final-year medical students to meet this demand, examine their perceived competence, and determine how their overall perceived competence correlates with their willingness. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using a self-administered electronic questionnaire was used. The questionnaire included demographic data, students' self-perceived competence derived from the patient care theme of the Saudi Medical Education Directives (SaudiMED) framework, and their willingness to be measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The study targeted final-year medical students at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: The number of participants was 134 (56.1% response rate), of whom 47 students (34.3%) were willing to work, while 31 (23.1%) were somewhat willing. The mean total self-perceived-competence score was 58.36/88 (66.3%). Demonstration of essential clinical skills had the highest mean score 11.48/16 (71.8%) among learning outcomes. There was a positive moderate correlation between willingness and mean perceived-competence score (Spearman correlation coefficient=0.45, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Fifty-seven percent of medical students were willing to work as part of the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. Better overall self-perceived competence appeared to correlate with more willingness. Students perceive themselves to be more competent in essential clinical skills. Appropriate training and supervision are suggested in all tasks assigned to them, with additional care required in areas with a lower perceived competence, such as prescription writing and essential clinical procedures.