Khat chewing among parents and their children: A potential transgenerational effect.

Background: Khat has a stimulating and addictive effect and can induce consequences on the health and socioeconomic status of khat chewers. Objectives: This study aims to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of khat chewing among parents in Jazan and its consequential effect on their children. Methods: This cross-sectional investigation was conducted in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. Data was collected via a web-based, self-administered questionnaire measuring demographics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning khat chewing. The Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used to assess factors associated with khat chewing among parents and its consequential effect on their children. Results: A total of 724 parents were included. The sample had an overall good knowledge about the health hazards of khat chewing and an attitude against khat chewing. Nonetheless, the number of parents who reported that they had ever tried khat chewing was 200 (27.6%) and 106 parents (14.6%) confirmed that their children were khat chewers. Additionally, 98 (13.5%) parents declared that they practiced khat chewing in front of their children. Higher frequencies of parents who reported providing khat to their children were identified among parents with higher attitude levels that favor khat chewing (P value = 0.04). Conclusions: Efforts should be made to develop targeted preventive and educational strategies to reduce khat chewing among parents who have favorable attitudes toward khat chewing.

Awareness, knowledge and perception of electronic cigarettes among undergraduate students in Jazan Region, Saudi Arabia.

The use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has steadily grown over the past few years, rising in popularity amongst young adults, especially. Owing to the perception that e-cigarettes are less harmful than conventional cigarettes, some people have resorted to using them as a means of quitting cigarette smoking. This study aimed to assess the awareness, knowledge, perception and use of e-cigarettes among Jazan University students in Saudi Arabia. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted with 775 students. Using stratified random sampling to recruit study participants, the dataset tabling the use of e-cigarettes, as well as knowledge, perception and awareness was collected using a translated and culturally adapted structured Arabic questionnaire. Our results showed that 21.0% of the participants used e-cigarettes and 35.1% of them used them to quit smoking. E-cigarette use was mostly reported by students from the College of Medical Applied Sciences (31.7%). The overall knowledge score was 3.9, with a standard deviation of 1.3 for the score range from zero to seven. About half of the participants correctly identified e-cigarettes as not less addictive' than cigarettes. However, 70.2% of students failed to identify e-cigarettes as a source of second-hand exposure to nicotine. About two-thirds of the sample believed that e-cigarettes could adversely affect health. The perception of using e-cigarettes for smoking cessation was not significantly associated with e-cigarette use. In conclusion, the prevalence of e-cigarette use was similar to that reported in the literature. However, Jazan University students failed to identify the health risks associated with e-cigarette use. Therefore, a strategy to enhance students' awareness of the benefits and harms of e-cigarettes is needed.

Variations in length of stay of inpatients with COVID-19: A nationwide test of the new model of care under vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as it has other nations. However, length of stay (LOS), as a healthcare quality indicator, has not been examined across the healthcare regions in the KSA. Therefore, this study aimed to examine factors associated with LOS to better understand the Saudi Health System's performance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the newly suggested five Saudi regional business units (BUs). METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using Ministry of Health (MOH) data on hospital LOS during the period from March to mid-July 2020. Participants were adult inpatients (18 years or older) with confirmed COVID-19 (n = 1743 patients). The 13 regions of the KSA were united into the defined five regional BUs during the reorganization of the health system. Covariates included demographics such as age and sex, comorbidities, and complications of COVID-19. A multiple linear regression with stepwise forward selection was used to model LOS for other explanatory variables associated with LOS, including demographic, comorbidities, and complications. RESULTS: The mean LOS was 11.85 days which differed significantly across the BUs, ranging from 9.3 days to 13.3 days (p value < 0.001). BUs differed significantly in LOS for transferred patients but not for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) or those who died in-hospital. The multiple regression analysis revealed that the LOS for inpatients admitted in the Eastern and Southern BUs was significantly shorter than for those in the Central BU. (p value < 0.001). Admission to the ICU was associated with lengthier stays (p value < 0.0001). Factors significantly associated with shorter stays (compared to the reference), were being Saudi, death during admission, and patients referred to another hospital (p value < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The LOS for patients with COVID-19 differed across the proposed regional healthcare BUs, suggesting regional differences in quality of care under the reorganization of the national health system. Since patient and disease characteristics did not explain these findings, differences in staffing and other resources need to be examined to develop interventions.

Regional differences in COVID-19 ICU admission rates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A simulation of the new model of care under vision 2030.

OBJECTIVE: Saudi Arabia has succeeded in having one of the lowest rates of COVID-19 worldwide due to the government's initiatives in taking swift action to control both the spread and severity of the virus. However, Covid-19 can serve as a test case of the expected response of the new healthcare system under Vision 2030. This study used data from the thirteen present administrative regions of KSA to simulate the variations in ICU admission as a quality indicator in the five business units proposed by a new Model of Care. METHODS: We determined the rates of ICU admission for patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) from March to mid-July 2020. The final sample included 1743 inpatients with moderate to severe COVID-19. Patient characteristics, including demographics, pre-existing chronic conditions, and COVID-19 complications, were collected. Business units (BUs) were compared with respect to the relative odds of ICU admission by using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: After keeping patient and clinical characteristics constant, clear BU differences were observed in the relative odds of ICU admission of COVID-19 patients. Inpatient admission to ICU in our total sample was almost 50%. Compared to the Central BU, the Northern and Western BUs showed significantly higher odds of ICU admission while the Eastern & Southern BUs had significantly lower odds. CONCLUSION: ICU use for COVID-19 patients differed significantly in KSA healthcare BUs, consistent with variations in care for other non-COVID-19-related conditions. These differences cannot be explained by patient or clinical characteristics, suggesting quality-of-care differences. We believe that privatization and the shift to fewer administrative BUs will help lessen or eliminate altogether the present variations in healthcare service provision.