Health-related quality of life in adults with hematological cancer: a 2023 cross-sectional survey from Qatar.

Background: Hematological cancers impose a complex burden on individuals, affecting their physical health and mental and emotional well-being. This study evaluated the health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) and its determinants among adults with hematological cancers in Qatar in 2023. Methods: A cross-sectional study used a validated structured questionnaire conducted among adult patients diagnosed with hematological cancers. All adult patients who attended The National Centre for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR) in Qatar during the Data collection period (January to March 2023) and agreed to participate were included in the study. Results: A total of 257 participants were enrolled in the study. The highest median (IQR) score of the HRQOL domain was observed in the functionating score of 90.6 (13.8), followed by the global health score of 83.3(25. 0). The median (IQR) of the symptoms burden score was 07.4(12.3). Gender significantly affects HRQOL, with males reporting better functioning and lower symptom burden than females. Employment status is positively associated with functioning scores. Regular exercise correlates with higher global health and functioning scores and lower symptom burden, while depressive symptoms are linked to poorer HRQOL outcomes. Patients experiencing cancer recurrence or active disease report lower global health and functioning scores and higher symptom burden. Treatment modalities such as chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant (BMT) timing also influence HRQOL, with recent treatment recipients showing lower global health and higher symptom burden scores. Depressive symptoms were the primary factor, lowering the global health score by 15.2%. Regarding the low functioning score predictors, female gender, depressive symptoms, and cancer recurrence emerged as significant predictors of the low functioning score. Furthermore, Regular exercise increased the functioning score by 03.4 units (p-value=0.018). Finally, Multiple linear regression analysis reinforced the significance of depressive symptoms, active disease status, and recurrence within the past five years as substantial predictors of higher symptom scores. Conclusions: The study emphasizes the profound impact of depressive symptoms on all aspects of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL), mainly affecting global health. It highlights the positive role of regular exercise in enhancing global health, functioning, and symptom burden scores.

Perception of consanguineous marriage among the qatari population.

Background: Hereditary blood diseases are widespread among the Arab population due to the high rates of consanguineous marriages; research regarding the perception of consanguineous marriage in some countries, such as Qatar, is extremely scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of consanguineous marriage and assess the perception of consanguineous marriage among the Qatari population. Methods: A cross-sectional study used a self-administered questionnaire among 395 Qatari adults aged 18-35 who attended primary healthcare institutions in Qatar. A convenience sampling technique was used to select the study participants. An independent t-test was used to compare the significance of the mean between the two groups with positive and negative perceptions of consanguineous marriage. Categorical data were analyzed for association using the chi-square or Fisher's exact test. Finally, a multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the significant predictors of the positive perception of consanguineous marriage. A significant level was set at p < 0.05. Results: Approximately 45% of the participants had a positive perception toward consanguineous marriage, and the most common reason stated by those participants was "habit and traditions." The prevalence of consanguineous marriage among married couples was 62.6%, and among those with consanguineous marriage, most were married to first cousins (81.7%). Moreover, compared to the participants with negative perceptions of consanguineous marriage, those with positive ones were significantly older, married, with lower educational levels and higher monthly income levels, did not hear about glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, did not know what kinds of diseases are being screened in the premarital test, and were married to a relative. Conclusion: The prevalence of consanguineous marriage is high among the Qatari population, and this requires an immediate need for community-based campaigns to raise public awareness about the problem and its potential impact.

Knowledge and Practice of Emergency Physicians Regarding Food-borne Disease Surveillance at Hamad General Hospital in Qatar.

Introduction According to the World Health Organization (WHO), foodborne diseases (FBD's) have become a global health issue. In Qatar, foodborne diseases are among the top ten events reported to the Ministry of Public Health. Efforts to enhance FBD surveillance cannot succeed without involving the emergency department (ED), which is typically the first point of contact for the FBD victims with the healthcare system. Therefore, we aimed to explore the knowledge and practices of emergency physicians regarding stool sample collection as part of FBD surveillance efforts in Qatar. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at the ED of Hamad General Hospital (HGH) between July 22 and September 12 of 2018. The enrolled participants were invited to participate in an online survey at the "QSurvey" platform. The data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel (Version 2016). Descriptive statistics such as frequency tables, proportions, and percentages were applied as appropriate. Results A total of 65 responses (response rate: 29.27%) were received within the duration of the study. Most participants were specialists (45%), graduated between 2000 and 2013 (64%), and worked for one year or more at HGH-Hamad Medical Corporation (95%). Regarding their knowledge of FBD surveillance, most participants (80%) reported that a stool culture is a necessary laboratory investigation for patients with acute bloody diarrhea and fever. Also, a large percentage of physicians identified salmonella (75%), Clostridium difficile (70%), and E.coli O157:H7 (70%) as pathogens of nationally notifiable diseases. Regarding the respondents' practice towards FBD surveillance, almost three-quarters of the physicians (72%) who encountered a patient with acute diarrhea did not order a stool culture. Subsequently, about two-thirds (62%) of the participants who requested a stool culture reported not following up on the results of such request. Regarding the history taken from patients with acute diarrhea, a large percentage of respondents reported asking about the patient's travel history (100%), presence of any sick contacts (93.6%), and presence of any associated symptoms (abdominal pain, fever, bloody stool) as well as other details. Conclusion The current research identified several gaps regarding the knowledge and practice of emergency physicians towards the surveillance of foodborne disease. Such results serve as a basis for future research and intervention strategies to augment surveillance activities related to food-borne diseases in the State of Qatar.

Evaluation of the Completeness and Timeliness of National Malaria Surveillance System in Qatar, 2016.

Background The high influx of migrant workers from malaria-endemic countries along with the presence of a malaria vector in Qatar has raised the alarm of the possible reintroduction of local transmission. Meanwhile, the Qatar Malaria Surveillance System aims to detect any local malaria transmission as well as to monitor trends in imported cases. Aim Evaluating the attributes of the Malaria Surveillance System in Qatar will help identify any gaps necessitating rectification. Method The completeness and timeliness of the malaria surveillance system were determined. The direct method was used to determine completeness. Timeliness was evaluated by calculating the time lag between the onset of disease and notification receipt by the surveillance team (T) or diagnosis (T1) and between the diagnosis and receipt of notification by the surveillance team (T2). Results The overall external completeness of Malaria surveillance system was yielded at 47% (219/493). The most frequently reported data fields were found to be age, gender, and nationality with a percentage of 99% or more. However, the least reported data components were found to be lab results, types of samples, sample collection, and travel destinations with percentages of 59%, 58%, 56%, and 41%, respectively.The overall median time lags was six days for T, four days for T1, and two days for T2. Conclusion Our study has identified several merits and areas of improvement in the National Malaria Surveillance System in Qatar. The attributes of evaluation, completeness and timeliness, need more quality improvement. Evaluation of other surveillance system attributes is highly recommended.

Iron deficiency, its epidemiological features and feeding practices among infants aged 12 months in Qatar: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the magnitude of anaemia, iron deficiency (ID), iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) and to explore epidemiological features of ID and feeding practices among infants aged 12 months in Qatar. SETTING: Well baby clinics in 14 randomly selected primary healthcare centres covering all geographical areas on the national level. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred and six (163 male and 143 female) infants of all nationalities were enrolled. Mothers were asked to complete a predesigned interview questionnaire and infants were blood tested for anaemia, ID and IDA. OUTCOME MEASURES: Cut-off point used to diagnose anaemia was haemoglobin <11.1 g/dL, and to diagnose ID, serum ferritin <6 ug/L with normal C reactive protein. RESULTS: Prevalence of anaemia was 23.5%, ID was 9.2% and IDA was 7.8%. ID was more prevalent among non-Qatari infants compared with Qatari (10.9% vs1.7%, p=0.029), more prevalent among infants born to housewives and to families of low income (p≤0.05). With regard to feeding practice, ID was higher in infants who continued breastfeeding until the age of 1 year and among those who never took infant formula milk (p≤0.05). Mothers who received infant feeding counselling had less ID occurrence among their infants compared with their counterparts who did not receive such counselling (4.2%vs13.4%, p=0.005). CONCLUSION: Although ID and IDA among infants in Qatar are less prevalent compared with many developing countries, still further efforts are needed for improvement towards more developed countries. Efforts should be contextualised and should target the key epidemiological features with special emphasis on infant feeding and infant feeding counselling to mothers.

Perceptions and practice of physicians and pharmacists regarding antibiotic misuse at primary health centres in Qatar: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: The inappropriate use of antibiotics is a critical global health issue. The lack of antimicrobial stewardship exposes the community to unwarranted medication and contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance. This study evaluated the perceptions and practice of physicians and pharmacists at primary healthcare centres of Qatar with respect to antibiotic misuse. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 226 physicians and 82 pharmacists in primary health care centres. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used for data collection. Separate self-administered questionnaires were administered to physicians and pharmacists. RESULTS: Response rates for physicians and pharmacists were 97.8% and 100%, respectively. Both physicians (90.7%) and pharmacists (87.8%) perceived antibiotic misuse as a major public health issue. To prevent antibiotic misuse, most physicians and pharmacists reported a focus on patient education as well as good practices in their work. CONCLUSION: This study provides novel evidence on the perceptions and practices of health professionals concerning antibiotic prescription in primary healthcare settings of Qatar.

The Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative and Qatar, 2016.

Breastfeeding instills countless benefits that extend beyond the infant and child to the entire nation. One of the global targets set by the WHO to improve maternal, infant, and young child nutrition is to increase the rate of exclusive breast-feeding "in the first 6 months" up to at least 50% by 2025.3 Thus, as a global endeavor to promote and sustain breastfeeding, the WHO and UNICEF launched the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) 1 year after the Innocenti Declaration of 1990. Regarding the State of Qatar, there was a 34% rate of early initiation of breastfeeding "within the first hour of birth" and a 29% rate of exclusive breastfeeding between 2010 and 2015. In Qatar during 2016, many obstacles in achieving the aforementioned global target remained. In addition, there are still no hospitals with a BFHI accreditation.

Breastfeeding practice and determinants among Arab mothers in Qatar.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the breastfeeding practices of Arab mothers by measuring breastfeeding indicators, and to identify the related determinants that affect maternal practices in Qatar. METHODS: Using interview administered questionnaires, we carried out this cross-sectional study with cluster sampling of 770 Arab mothers of children below 24 months of age attending primary health care centers in Qatar from June to October 2009. RESULTS: Early initiation of breastfeeding was found in 57%, exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months in 18.9%, and continued breastfeeding at one year in 49.9% of mothers. Children ever breastfed comprised 97.9%, continued breastfeeding at 2 years old comprised 45.4%, and predominant breastfeeding 11.9%. The proportion of children who were appropriately breastfed was 29%. The `rooming in` rate was 43.9%. Receiving breast milk substitutes, exposure to advertisements for artificial teats, and employment status showed a significant relation with both early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding. On demand feeding was related to exclusive breastfeeding, and `rooming in` and mode of delivery was related to early initiation. CONCLUSION: Breastfeeding practice among Arab mothers in Qatar is not at an acceptable level. Core indicators, optional indicators, and health facility indicators for breastfeeding practice are not at the desired World Health Organization recommended levels.