ABSTRACT
Background The medical undergraduates in the College of Medicine at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia, are dedicated to undergrad training in family health facilities. Throughout this clinical attachment, students receive instructions in family practice, patient management, communication skills, clinical examination, and history-taking. Objectives This study was conducted to assess patients' attitudes and key contributing variables toward having medical students participate in their health care consultations in family medicine clinics in the Makkah region of Saudi Arabia. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 529 patients who attended family medicine clinics in primary health care settings and were living in the Makkah region. The researchers collected the relevant data during a three-month period (from February 1 to the end of April 2023) by administering a validated, well-structured, self-administered online survey of 24 items on several electronic platforms and analyzing it with SPSS Version 23. Results The mean of their answers on attitude was found to be 41.6 ± 8.51, suggesting a positive attitude of the patients toward the involvement of medical students in their health care. Around 150 (28.4%) of the participants strongly agreed that medical students obtained their histories, and 119 (22.5%) strongly agreed that medical students performed clinical examinations for them. Around 104 (19.7) of the participants strongly agreed and 140 (26.5) perceived that the involvement of medical students in their health care improves doctors' competence. Being 56 years old or older, widowed, retired, or having chronic diseases were found to be associated with a more positive attitude of the patients toward the involvement of medical students in their health care, with p-values of 0.024, 0.034, 0.009, and 0.005, respectively. Conclusions Patients showed favorable attitudes toward the existence and participation of medical students in their health care in family medicine clinics. The provision of health-related information and the taking of a detailed history were the most notable benefits of medical students' involvement in patient care, according to most of the patients. Older, widowed, retired, and those with chronic diseases seemed to possess a positive attitude toward the engagement of medical students in their health care in the family medicine clinics.
ABSTRACT
Background Disaster is any unexpected event that leads to significant harm exceeding the capacity of the affected community for coping. Unfortunately, disasters have increased during the last few years globally. Knowledge and attitude of people are the main steps for the success of disaster preparedness and management. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the level of knowledge and attitude about disaster preparedness among secondary school students in the western region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methodology A cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted on a sample of 726 secondary school students who were chosen from the western region of Saudi Arabia through a multistage sampling approach. The data were collected using a validated, self-administered, electronic questionnaire comprising 34 items. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results A total of 726 respondents were recruited in this study. The majority of the respondents were females (79.5%), and about half (53.9%) belonged to the 17-18-year age group. About half of the participants had a good understanding of disaster preparedness. The most common source of their information was social media (78.8%). Despite the majority of the study population showing a positive attitude toward disaster preparedness, only 34.2% of the respondents were previously involved in a disaster drill(s) or workshop(s). Students' knowledge of disaster preparedness was significantly associated with their gender (p < 0.001), father's and mother's education (p < 0.001 for each), father's occupation (p = 0.005), and average monthly income (p < 0.001). The average monthly income of parents was shown to be significantly correlated with attitude scores toward disaster management preparedness. Conclusions This study revealed that the perceived knowledge regarding disaster preparedness among secondary school students in the western region of Saudi Arabia was fair with a high level of positive attitude toward it. Educated parents, employed fathers, and high family income were associated with good knowledge of students. Disaster response training simulation for students is highly recommended to be involved in the curricula.
ABSTRACT
Background Exercise during pregnancy helps to promote health benefits for both the mother and fetus. One of the concerns among Saudi pregnant women is physical inactivity. The objective of this study was to assess females' knowledge, beliefs, and practices toward exercise during pregnancy in Saudi Arabia. Also, we investigated the most common barriers to exercising during pregnancy. Methods The study was a cross-sectional study that included all Saudi females aged 18 years and above and excluded non-Saudi females and those aged less than 18 years. A self-administered survey was distributed on social media platforms. The collected data were coded and analyzed using SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results A total of 1207 participants were enrolled in the study. In regards to general knowledge and awareness levels, 1002 (83%) participants had a high level of knowledge and awareness, and 205 (17%) had a low level of knowledge and awareness. Exercise during pregnancy is essential was agreed on by 853 (70.7%) participants. The most reported sources of information on prenatal exercise were found to be websites, as reported by 56.7% of the participants. About 42.4% of the participants were sometimes exercising during pregnancy. The most common type of antenatal exercise was found to be walking, as mentioned by 83.5% of the participants. The most commonly reported barrier to practicing antenatal exercises was found to be fatigue, as reported by 53.9% of the participants, and lack of time. Age was found to be significantly associated with the level of beliefs, awareness, and knowledge regarding antenatal care. A statistically significant association was found between marital status and level of beliefs, awareness, and knowledge regarding antenatal care with married participants tending to be having a higher level of knowledge and awareness compared to other groups. Occupation and level of beliefs, awareness, and knowledge regarding antenatal care were found to be significantly associated. Conclusion We found good general knowledge and awareness levels regarding exercise during pregnancy. Beliefs toward exercise during pregnancy were below average. Future studies on how to promote regular exercise during pregnancy are recommended.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common cause of cervical cancer among Saudi females in reproductive age. Parents' awareness of and attitude toward vaccination against HPV in young females are very crucial to prevent the development of cervical cancer. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of and attitude toward the HPV vaccine among Saudi parents in the Saudi western region. METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted that included 343 parents randomly selected from in the Saudi western region. The online questionnaire was disseminated via WhatsApp and Telegram groups of parents in schools and among visitors of parents in primary health care. RESULTS: The studied parents had poor knowledge of HPV and its vaccine. About a third (32.9%) knew about the HPV vaccine and the most common source of their knowledge was physicians (38%) while the most frequent barrier for vaccination was their confidence of being not at risk (75.2%). About 90.0% of parents having a good level of knowledge were willing to vaccinate their children. CONCLUSION: This study reveals a poor level of knowledge about HPV infection and its vaccine among both male and female parents in the Saudi Arabian western area. As a consequence, only 7.2% of them had vaccinated their female children. The majority of the parents having good knowledge about the HPV vaccine were willing to vaccinate their children. Therefore, this study highlights the necessity of educating women on cervical cancer risk factors, as well as the importance of screening programs.
