Impact of Audience Response System in Enhancing Teaching of Anatomy and Physiology for Health Sciences Students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences.

Purpose: Instructional methods that offer students' opportunity for engagement are essential to develop an active learning environment. This paper aims (1) to assess whether the use of an Audience Response System (ARS) during anatomy and physiology lectures improves students' engagement, knowledge retention and academic achievement and (2) to evaluate the feasibility of introducing ARS as a formative tool from both instructors' and students' perspectives. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted across ten lectures for the second-year Pre-Applied Medical Science (PAMS) and Pre-Medical (PMED) students at the College of Sciences and Health Professions, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The ARS was integrated into five lectures, whereas the remaining were conducted without ARS. A comparison of the immediate post-lecture and prior laboratory session quiz scores between the lectures with and without ARS was performed using an independent sample t-test. An online survey was completed by the students as well as informal feedback was taken from the instructors to assess ARS usefulness. Results: A total of 65 PMAS and 126 PMED students participated in the study. Students achieved significantly better scores for ARS lectures than non-ARS lectures: PAMS (p 0.038) and PMED (p 0.018). Students and instructors agreed that ARS was easy to use, allowing students to engage and actively participate in the teaching process by responding to questions and receiving instant and anonymous feedback about their learning progress. Conclusion: Employing suitable interactive teaching methods facilitates students' learning and improves their retention of knowledge. Students and instructors positively view the ARS strategy as a means to promote learning in a traditional lecture setting. Increased practice on how to integrate its use into classrooms could lead to further utilization.

Burnout and Depressive Symptoms in Healthcare Professionals: A Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: The study objectives were to examine the prevalence of burnout among healthcare professionals, analyze the association of depression and burnout among healthcare professionals, and explore the factors related to burnout. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study using a validated questionnaire was conducted among healthcare professionals in a tertiary teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia's central region. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire was used to measure burnout through emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out using SAS version 9.4. RESULTS: The study sample was composed of 139 healthcare professionals. Around 48% of the study sample were nurses, 26% were physicians, 19% were pharmacists, and 6% were other healthcare professionals. About 61% screened positive for depression. Overall, one third of the participants had a high risk of burnout. Around 61.8% of the participants were in the high-risk group of the EE, 58.3% of the DP, and 41.0% of the PA subscales. Scores for the overall MBI were significantly different between various age groups, gender, those with social and financial responsibility, income, job titles, or years of experience. A higher risk of burnout in all subscales was observed among those with depression. CONCLUSIONS: A high risk of burnout was observed among healthcare professionals. The level of burnout was connected to workplace factors and the presence of depression. The burnout suffering among these healthcare professionals underlines the need to study further how to reduce the factors that contribute to burnout and the impact of interventions to reduce healthcare professionals' burnout levels. The burnout scientific literature would benefit from further high-quality research with larger samples using longitudinal study designs to identify the causal risk factors.

Undergraduate-level teaching and learning approaches for interprofessional education in the health professions: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Although most systematic reviews of interprofessional education (IPE) evaluated the impact of IPE on the students' acquisition of knowledge in relation to other professions, the development of teamwork skills, and the changes in collaborative behaviour, the processes involved in IPE (i.e., approaches to teaching and learning) are under-researched. The purpose of the study was to conduct a systematic review to establish how IPE has been implemented in university-based undergraduate curricula, focusing on the teaching and learning approaches. METHODS: The systematic review was performed in 2020 with three databases: PubMed, Science Direct, and the Cochrane Library. Titles and abstracts were included based on pre-identified eligibility criteria. We used the article entitled 'Systematic reviews in medical education: a practical approach: AMEE guide 94' as the basis to establish the aim and methods of the current systematic review from 2010 to 2019. RESULTS: We found 16 articles that met the inclusion criteria and reported the implementation process of IPE in universities from Western, Asian, and African countries. A combination of at least two teaching and learning approaches was used to deliver IPE. The findings indicated that of all the teaching and learning approaches, simulation-based education, e-learning, and problem-based learning were the most prevalent approaches used to deliver IPE. This systematic review also revealed a lack of IPE programmes in the Middle East region. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence synthesised in the current systematic review could support IPE curriculum planners and educators when planning an IPE programme. More global IPE initiatives are required to meet the global health workforce needs. Further studies are required to identify the effectiveness of the different teaching and learning approaches in the development of IPE competencies.

The Incidence of Congenital Heart Defects in Offspring Among Women With Diabetes in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: The risk of congenital anomalies is increased in infants of diabetic mothers (IDM). The most frequent cardiac anomalies in IDMs include ventricular septal defect, transposition of great arteries, and aortic stenosis. OBJECTIVE: Estimating the incidence of infants with congenital heart defects (CHD) whose mothers have diabetes in Saudi Arabia at a tertiary hospital in the National Guard Health Affairs (NGHA) system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a retrospective cohort. The population was all births of type 1 and type 2 diabetic mothers and non-diabetic mothers (also mothers with gestational diabetes) in NGHA by following the exclusion criteria, which were mothers over 40 and below 20 years of age, and other risk factors such as drug-induced congenital disease. The data was from deliveries from January 1st 2018 to January 1st 2019. Data were collected by chart review using the Best-Care system at NGHA hospital. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1838 diabetic mothers and non-exposure, non-diabetic mothers, with the outcome of whether the infant had CHD, were included in this study. Most of the mothers (544, 30.11%) were aged 30-34 years old. About two-thirds of mothers, 1161 (63.24%), weren't diabetic, 500 (27.23%) had gestational diabetes, 132 (7.19%) were type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and 43 (2.34%) were type 1 diabetes (T1DM). Two hundred eighteen (11.82%) offspring had CHD, and the remaining 1625 (88.17%) did not. The most frequent echocardiographic abnormalities in infants of diabetic mothers were patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) (31.75%), patent foramen ovale (PFO) (31.75%), and atrial septal defect (ASD) (23.64%). CONCLUSION: The incidence of CHD among infants of included mothers in this cohort study was 11.82%. The most frequent echocardiographic abnormalities in the infants of diabetics were PDA and PFO. The incidence of CHD was higher among mothers who had T1DM followed by T2DM, and whose ages were between 30-34.

Assessment of Radiological Sciences Students' and Interns' Long-Term Retention of Theoretical and Practical Knowledge: A Longitudinal Panel Study.

PURPOSE: This study examined the long-term retention of radiological sciences' theoretical and practical knowledge among two cohorts of Saudi male and female students and interns at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)-Jeddah campus. METHODS: A longitudinal panel study was conducted among fourth-year radiological sciences undergraduate students and interns at KSAU-HS, KSA-Jeddah campus. The students were invited to voluntarily retake three onsite 40-multiple-choice-questions midterm exams after one-year interval from their initial midterm exams, whereas the interns retook the same three exams after two years interval. One of the three exams was for a practical course, while the other two were for theoretical courses (ie, one incorporated a blending learning instructional strategy and the second employed a passive learning strategy). The initial exams' scores were retrieved. Paired samples t-test was used to compare paired test scores, and one-way analysis of variance was used to examine differences in the retention percentages between the three courses. RESULTS: Out of all 42 fourth-year students and interns, 35 (83.3%) participated. The one-year and two-year retake exams' mean scores were significantly lower than the initial exams' mean scores for the three courses and among students and interns (P < 0.05). The one-to-two years retention of practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge via a blended learning instructional approach was 61.5-78.6%, more than the retention of theoretical knowledge via a passive learning approach (47.6-64.1%). The one-year retention of practical and theoretical information was significantly higher among male students (64.1-78.6%) than females (47.6-62.9%). CONCLUSION: Students and interns showed higher long-term retention of practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge using a blended-learning instructional approach than passive learning approach, with male students showing higher long-term knowledge retention than females. It is essential to incorporate innovative teaching strategies that promote long-term knowledge retention, such as active and blended learning.

Quality of anticoagulation control among patients with atrial fibrillation: An experience of a tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common chronic rhythm disorder. Patients with AF are at an increased risk of ischemic stroke. Therefore, optimal anticoagulation is essential to reduce the risk of stroke. The aim of this study was to assess the level of anticoagulation control achieved in patients with nonvalvular AF receiving medical care in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study in ambulatory care clinics at tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia. We included 110 nonvalvular AF patients treated with warfarin for at least 3 months at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between May 1, 2012, and July 31, 2012. Thereafter, international normalized ratio results were collected for 1 year. Anticoagulation control was assessed by calculating time within therapeutic range (TTR) as per the Rosendaal method. RESULTS: The mean age was 64.9 ± 16.5 years; 60.9% were female. The mean TTR was 59%. Almost one third of the patients (32.7%) had poor anticoagulation control; TTR of <50%. Poor anticoagulation control was significantly associated with higher CHADS2 (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age, diabetes, stroke) score (p = 0.043). TTR was not significantly different between men and women. Similarly, TTR was not associated with age or duration of anticoagulation. There was no adequate information to assess the effect of other factors such as diet, compliance, and level of education on anticoagulation. Thirty-one patients (28.2%) had a history of prior stroke. The overall quality of anticoagulation was not significantly different between patients with and without stroke, (TTR was 56.3% and 60.1%, respectively; p = 0.46). CONCLUSION: Quality of anticoagulation in patients with AF receiving medical care in a tertiary care hospital was suboptimal, with nearly 40% of the time spent outside the therapeutic range. Methods to improve anticoagulation control among patients with AF should be implemented.

Effect of course coordinator behavior and motivation on students' achievement: Results from five curriculum blocks of two undergraduate student cohorts at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University of Health Sciences.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between students' perception of course/block coordinators performance and attributes with students' assessment scores in respective courses. METHODS: This retrospective data based study was conducted at the College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University of Health Sciences (KSAU-HS). It was started in March 2013 and completed in June 2013 after the graduation of the fourth cohort. Exam score of 3(rd) and 4(th) cohort of students from the courses taught in the last two years of medical school were correlated with faculty and block evaluation done by the students. Scores from mid-block MCQs, portfolio scores, OSCEs and end-of-block MCQs were obtained. RESULTS: The Mean scores of all the assessments for all five blocks were not significantly different for both batches. There was significant difference between block coordinators for students' score on portfolio, midterm exam and the final written exam. The students' Score in OSCE had significantly strong correlation with quality of station monitors, coverage of content and flow between stations. Student's perception of the commitment and motivation of the coordinator was strongly correlated with block organization, availability of clinical cases, performance of block coordinator, cooperation with students, and organization of clinical activities. CONCLUSIONS: Block coordinator's motivation and commitment affects quality of block organization and student`s success. Faculty training programs should include block management competencies and components identified through self-determination theory for improving the intrinsic motivation for students success.

Medication adherence among adult patients on hemodialysis.

Medication adherence was assessed in 89 patients on hemodialysis (HD) at the King Abdul Aziz Medical City using an Arabic version of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MASS-8). The results of the study revealed that 31.46% and 40.45% of the participants showed low and medium adherence, respectively, while 28.09% showed high medication adherence. Accordingly, 71.91% of the patients visiting the dialysis unit were considered medication non-adherent. While being of older age (P = 0.012), being married (P = 0.012) increased the level of adherence, being of medium level of education (P = 0.024) decreased adherence levels. On the other hand, gender, presence of a care-giver, number of members in the household and employment status seems to have no effect on the level of medication adherence. These results call upon the practitioners in HD units to develop intervention programs that can increase the level of medication adherence.