Impact of A Health Education Intervention Program about Breast Cancer among Women in a Semi-urban Area in Alexandria, Egypt.

UNLABELLED: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second principal cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide as well as in Egypt. The present work aimed to assess the impact of a health education intervention program about breast cancer (BC) among women in a semi-urban area in Alexandria. The study was carried out through pre-post test design in three phases; pre intervention phase, intervention phase, and post intervention phase. A total number of 139 females accepted to be included in the study, their mean age was 39.94 +/-13.5 years, about 23% had secondary and university education. Intervention health education program was administrated to 96 women, those were subjected to post test, and the total number of drop-outs group was 43 women. The results showed that there was a highly significant improvement in all knowledge items of the intervention group from pre to post-test. After the intervention program, eleven women (11.6%) had good knowledge. About, 75.0% practiced breast self examination (BSE) in post-test compared to 70.0% who did not practiced it in pre-test. Age was the only factor affecting BC knowledge significantly. Women's education and knowledge score were significantly associated with the practice of BSE. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: data from this study re-enforce the continuing need for more BC education programs that are intended to attract the attention of women with low literacy skills.

Indicators of the screening program for congenital hypothyroidism in alexandria.

The screening of newborn children for metabolic and endocrinological disorders is one of the unsung successes of the health service. This study aimed to evaluate the congenital hypothyroidism (CH) screening program in Alexandria in terms of coverage, effectiveness of detecting and managing the cases. A record review was conducted at the Information and Decision Making Support Center of Alexandria Health Directorate during the period from October 2000 to December 2003 to evaluate the coverage of the program and to detect the number of true positives and false positives used to calculate the positive predictive value of the screening test. A follow- up study was conducted at the pediatric clinic of the Student's Sporting Hospital for all positive cases detected by the (CH) screening program attending the clinic for diagnosis, confirmation and treatment during the year 2002 (30 cases were followed-up) . The percentage of program coverage was 49.4%, 63.3% and 77.6% in the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively. The total positive cases in the three years were 26, 30, and 14 with positive predictive value of 65%, 57%, and 64% respectively. About three-quarters (73.3%) of all positive cases (30 cases) were compliant to therapy. Compliance was on fixed times in more than half of cases (56.7%), and irregular in 40%. There was a positive trend of increase in program coverage and effectiveness in detecting and managing the cases through the three years of the study.

Cytogenetic Abnormalities and Herdetiry Thrombophilias among the Abortees:.

UNLABELLED: Recurrent miscarriage affects only 1% of all couples. It is one of the most frustrating experiences for both patients and clinicians. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed at studying: the role of cytogenetic abnormalities and hereditary thrombophilias in repeated pregnancy losses (RPL), and the associated risk factors. SETTING: Kuwait Medical Genetics Centre Methods: A cross section study for cytogenetic abnormalities followed by a nested case control was conducted for 1000 couples referred because of RPL. A control group was selected at random from female patients attending the outpatient clinics for a reason other than abortion for comparison with those who were proved to have chromosomal abnormalities. Asubgroup of 100 female partners, who had no cytogenetic abnormalities, were further tested for the presence of factor V Leiden (FVL; Arg506Gln) and prothrombin (FII) gene mutations (G20210A). RESULTS: the prevalence of chromosomal abnormalities was 4.4%; most of them were structural aberrations (79.5%) represented mainly by inversion and translocation. Carriers of FVL mutation (G1691A) among the patient's group was significantly higher than that of the control group (10% vs. 2% respectively).One patient was heterozygous for FII G20210A mutations. This was nearly the same like that found in controls. The percentage of consanguineous marriages among patient group was less than that among the control group. Chromosome study for couple who have had RPL must be carried out. For complete and proper workup we have to investigate the presence of FVL, and FII G20210A mutations among patients with normal karyotype.

Role of Gender in Coping Capabilities among Young Visually Disabled Students.

UNLABELLED: This study aims to detect the role of gender in coping capabilities among young visually disabled students attending two schools for blindness. The WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS II), 36-Item Interviewer Administered translated Arabic version was used. It evaluates six domains of everyday living in the last 30 days. These domains are: understanding and communicating, getting around, self care, getting along with people, household activities and participation in society. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews of 200 students who represented the target population of the study. Binary logistic regression analysis of the scores of the six domains revealed that in almost all the domains except for getting around with people and coping with school activities, females significantly faced more difficulties in coping with daily life activities than did their male counterparts. Getting older was a significant factor in increasing difficulties in coping with school activities. Genetic factor was a dominating factor in causing and increasing the difficulties score. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Female gender was more susceptible to facing more difficulties in coping with visual disability than males. Early rehabilitation measures should be applied to assist the coping and adaptation of the visually disabled in all aspects of everyday living activities.

Job satisfaction and stress among MCH physicians in Alexandria.

Physician satisfaction with their job is a topic of importance to physicians in practice, physicians in training, health administrators, and health executives. Stress among physicians arises due to inadequate demands of the job in relation to worker's abilities, frustrated aspirations, and dissatisfaction with regard to aimed goals. The cross-sectional study design was conducted at 7 randomly selected Maternal and Child Health (MCH) centres, affiliated to seven medical zones in Alexandria. The study sample consisted of all physicians working at the studied MCH centres. A questionnaire designed for data collection was distributed to all physicians available and who accepted to participate in the study. The questionnaire included 4 sections measuring, socio-demographic characteristics, overall satisfaction and global satisfaction, an eight-dimension satisfaction scale, and a four-dimension stress scale. The questionnaire was distributed to 100 physicians out of whom 77% responded. Satisfaction scale was on a scale ranging from 6 (greatly satisfied) to 1 (greatly dissatisfied). Stress was on a scale ranging from 6 (greatly stressed) to 1 (greatly unstressed). The total mean satisfaction score for the sample under study was 3.3 +/- 0.6 with a significant difference among zones (F = 4.4, p < 0.05), and the total mean stress score for the sample under study was 3.8 +/- 0.7 with a significant difference among zones (F = 2.4, p < 0.05). It is recommended that decision makers at the MOHP find ways to raise the physicians' pay, efficient planning of resources, and find opportunities for future promotion.