Fear of contamination among older adults in the post-COVID-19 era.

This study assesses older adults' fear of contamination in the post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era, examining the factors associated with this fear and investigating its effects on their well-being and use of primary healthcare, considering the moderating effects of activities of daily living (ADL) and multimorbidity in these two relationships. A cross-sectional study was conducted in primary healthcare centers in three regions in Saudi Arabia with a convenience sample of 444 older adults diagnosed with chronic diseases. The results indicated that 77.9% of older adults had high contamination fear, predicted by their age, education level, gender, ADL, and previous COVID-19 infection experience. Subjective well-being and the number of primary healthcare visits in the post-COVID-19 era were negatively affected by contamination fear and both ADL and multimorbidity moderated these relationships. In conclusion, the study confirmed the need to focus on older adults' contamination fear to mitigate its negative effects on well-being and critical primary healthcare visits.

Comparison of Dose Increments of Botulinum Toxin A with Surgery as Primary Treatment for Infantile Esotropia and Partially Accommodative Esotropia.

Purpose: To compare the effect of increment dose of botulinum toxin (BTX) injection in correlation to the angle of deviation to bilateral medial rectus recession (BMR) in infantile esotropia and partially accommodative esotropia (PAET). Methods: This was a retrospective study that included pediatric patients ≤16 years old with infantile esotropia and PAET at Dhahran Eye Specialist Hospital (DESH) from 2014 till 2021 treated with increment dose of BTX or BMR. A successful outcome is defined as ocular alignment within 10 PD of deviation after 1-3 BTX injections or one surgery with a minimum follow-up of 6 months. Results: Of 177 patients, 101 patients received BTX treatment for either infantile esotropia (n = 37) or PAET (n = 64) and 76 patients underwent BMR for either infantile ET (n = 25) or PAET (n = 51). BTX showed a higher success rate than BMR {65.3% vs 55.3% (p = 0.174)}. In patients with infantile esotropia, the success rate was comparable between BTX group and BMR group {40.5% vs 52% (p = 0.440)}. However, the success rate was statistically significantly higher in BTX group in compare to BMR group {79.7% vs 56.9% (p = 0.014)}. Consecutive exotropia was 0% in BTX group and 9.2% in BMR group (p = 0.002). Conclusion: The increment dose of BTX injection is comparable to surgery in patients with infantile esotropia but superior to the routine surgery in patients with PAET. BTX has the advantage of a shorter procedure duration, lower costs, less exposure to general anesthesia and being minimally invasive intervention.

Psychological elder abuse among older Saudi adults: A cross-sectional study.

The research examining elder abuse in diverse cultural contexts, such as in Saudi Arabia, remains limited. This study examined the extent of psychological elder abuse among older Saudi adults and investigated the characteristics of the victims that increase the risk of such abuse and its impact on older adults' self-rated health. Between December 2021 and April 2022, a sample of 444 older adults were recruited from 25 primary health care centers in Saudi Arabia and completed a structured interview. Of those surveyed, 88.3% reported at least one symptom or suspected symptom of psychological elder abuse. Age, gender, income, living arrangements, functioning, and social networking predicted vulnerability psychological elder abuse. Self-rated health was negatively impacted by psychological elder abuse, and this relationship is not moderated by social networking. These findings can provide insights about psychological elder abuse in Saudi Arabia and increase awareness of its impact.