Cross sectional study on lifelong learning's determinants among medical students in RAK Medical & Health Sciences University, UAE.

OBJECTIVE: To find the association of Empathy, Self-Efficacy, and/or Hope with readiness for lifelong learning among medical students. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 2016 at Ras Al-Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University in the United Arab Emirates, and comprised medical students from all five years. A self-reporting questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data .Standard scales and analysis of variance test were used to compare the mean scores of different variables for different groups.. RESULTS: Of the 221 students 146(66%) were females, and the overall mean age was 19.94±1.71 years. The mean score of Inter-professional Reactivity Index to measure Empathy was 67.3±12.54. For self-efficacy it was 34.1±9.01. The mean score of Academic Hope Scale was 28.92±5.54. The mean score of the Revised Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning was 40.76±6.8. Female students had significantly higher scores of Inter-professional Reactivity Index and self-efficacy, whereas, non-Arab students had higher Inter-professional Reactivity Index scores than Arab students (p<0.05 each). Self-efficacy, hope, and lifelong learning were significantly and positively correlated (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Improving the positive psychology of medical students may increase their readiness to lifelong learning.

Women's empowerment and the intention to continue the practice of female genital cutting in Egypt.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to (dis)prove the association of the level of women's empowerment with their future intention to perpetuate female genital cutting for their daughters. METHODS: In a national representative community-based sample of 14,393 currently-married women in Egypt, the level of empowerment, intention to continue the practice, and other socio- demographic variables were collected in the 2000 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey. Secondary in-depth analysis was conducted on data downloaded from MEASURE Demographic Health Surveys (MEASURE DHS) website. RESULTS: About 14% of the women intended to discontinue the practice. Twenty-six percent of the women were empowered in all household decisions. Levels of women's empowerment adjusted for age, residence, education, interaction between empowerment and education, work status, and female genital cutting status of currently-married women were entered in six logistic regression models in a sequential way. CONCLUSION: In the last model, those of high levels of empowerment and education were 8.06 times more likely not intending to perpetuate female genital cutting for their daughters than low- empowered low-educated women.

Wealth Index association with gender issues and the reproductive health of Egyptian women.

This study investigated the association of the Wealth Index of married women in Egypt with a number of gender and reproductive health issues found in the 2005 Egypt Demographic Health Survey. The data from a subsample of 5249 currently married women from a total of 19,474 was examined using logistic regression analysis. The women's lowest wealth quintile predicted the intention to continue female genital cutting for their daughters, exposure to physical and sexual marital violence, not being empowered in household decisions, having a higher number of children, having an unintended last child, mothers' maltreatment of their children, the perception of a lack of health-care providers or drugs as an obstacle to receiving care, and not being covered by health insurance. The association of poverty with the aforementioned adverse health outcomes are discussed. Physicians should understand the effect of poverty on health and endeavour to influence policy-makers to reduce the poverty burden on health.

Physical Violence and Some Reproductive Health Variables among Currently Married Egyptian Women.

This study investigates the relationship between women exposure to marital physical violence and some reproductive health variables including the number of ANC visits during the last pregnancy, intended pregnancy, reporting of STDs symptoms and visiting governmental health facility in the past 6 months prior to the survey. The study was conducted on the EDHS, 2005 data. A sub-sample of 5249 currently- married women were investigated for both ever and the 12 months prior to survey exposure to physical violence by their current husbands, and its association with the aforementioned variables adjusting for the effect of respondents' age, education, work, residence, wealth index, number of children ever borne, and empowerment in household decisions. Around 29.4% of the studied women have been ever exposed to physical violence by their current husbands; of them 60% have been subjected to it in the 12 months prior to the survey. Logistic regression models showed that exposure to physical violence predicted lower number of ANC visits, unintended pregnancy, reporting of STDs symptoms, and utilization of governmental health facility in the past 6 months prior to the survey. The relationship between exposure to physical violence and poor reproductive health outcomes was strong to hold, adjusting for other covariates. The increased likelihood of visiting governmental health facilities by physically abused wives supports the recommendation to use public health services as entry point for management of violence against women (VAW), and to develop a comprehensive health sector response to various impacts of VAW.

Knowledge and perceptions of diabetes in a semi-urban Omani population.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem in the Sultanate of Oman. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and perception of diabetes in a sample of the Omani general population, and the associations between the elements of knowledge and perception, and socio-demographic factors. METHODS: The study was carried out in two semi-urban localities. A total of 563 adult residents were interviewed, using a questionnaire specifically designed for the present study. In addition to demographic information, the questionnaire contained questions on knowledge related to diabetes definition, symptoms, risk factors, complications and preventative measures, as well as risk perception for diabetes. RESULTS: Knowledge of diabetes was suboptimal. The percentages of correct responses to questions on diabetes definition, classical symptoms, and complications were 46.5%, 57.0%, and 55.1%, respectively. Only 29.5%, 20.8% and 16.9% identified obesity, physical inactivity and a positive family history, respectively, as risk factors for diabetes. A higher level of education, a higher household income, and the presence of a family history of diabetes were found to be positively associated with more knowledge. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that there is lack of awareness of major risk factors for diabetes mellitus. Level of education is the most significant predictor of knowledge regarding risk factors, complications and the prevention of diabetes. Given that the prevalence of diabetes has increased drastically in Oman over the last decade, health promotion seems essential, along with other means to prevent and control this emerging health problem.

Lactational Amenorrhoea and Modern Contraceptives Use among Nursing Women in Egypt 2003.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the potential for Lactational Amenorrhoea Method (LAM) and passive LAM among women with children below 6 months in the 2003 Egypt Demographic Health Survey (2003 EDHS), to assess the determinants of amenorrhea, and to examine the association of exclusive breastfeeding and amenorrhea with using modern contraceptive methods among nursing mothers of children below 2 years, adjusting for other associated variables. METHODS: Data from the 2003 EDHS was downloaded from the DHS website. A sub-sample of women fulfilling all the four criteria were selected: 1) women with last birth of children less than 2 years; 2) currently married; 3) not being sterilized; and 4) currently breast feeding their children. Accordingly, 1934 women entered into the statistical analysis, of them 629 had children below 6 months. RESULTS: Nearly 24% of nursing mothers with children below 6 months met LAM criteria, of them passive LAM users constituted 79.1%. For women with children below 24 months, determinants of amenorrhea were exclusive breast feeding, unemployment, number of living children, husband education, number of feeding at night, and having a male sex child. Higher education, urban residence, positive attitude towards contraception increased the likelihood of modern contraceptives use, whereas amenorrhea, exclusive breast feeding, and having a wanted child decreased its likelihood in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Exclusive breast feeding was associated with amenorrhea and modern contraceptive methods use in a direct and inverse fashion respectively. LAM is a commonly used method but it is liable to discontinuation or violation of its criteria. Hence, it is recommended to educate both the health care providers and users about it.

Association between type 2 diabetes mellitus and Helicobacter pylori infection.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: It is well known that patients with diabetes mellitus are more prone to infection. In patients with diabetes mellitus, chronic infections are frequent and severe, due to the impairment of their immune status. The aim of this study was to determine the association between Helicobacter pylori infection and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the United Arab Emirates population. This is a case and control study comparison of type 2 diabetes mellitus and non-diabetic groups. The study was conducted at the primary health care clinics in United Arab Emirates during the period from June 2002 to August 2003. The study included 210 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and 210 non-diabetic subjects. METHODS: Helicobacter pylori was assessed by histopathological examination by measuring antibody profiles (IgG and IgA) among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and the non-diabetic group. RESULTS: The mean age of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients infected with Helicobacter pylori was 48.1 +/- 7.9 years compared to 46.7 +/- 5.4 years in the non-diabetic infected subjects. A positive antibody titer for Helicobacter pylori infection (IgA >or=300) was found in 76.7% of the diabetic subjects compared to 64.8% of the non-diabetic subjects (p<0.009). There was higher prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in diabetic obese patients than the non-diabetic subjects (23.6% vs 11.8%, p<0.001). Muscular (47.2%), gastrointestinal (29.8%), chronic bronchitis (22.4%), nausea (19.9%), anemia (18%), abdominal pain (12.4%), diarrhea (10.6%) and vomiting (7.5%) were more common in diabetic patients infected with Helicobacter pylori. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that there is a significant association between Helicobacter pylori infection and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Helicobacter pylori infection was significantly higher in diabetic obese patients than non-diabetic subjects.

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction among hypertensive and nonhypertensive Qatari men.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction, its severity, and other sexual function domains in hypertensive and normotensive Qatari's men and to estimate the association between hypertension and predictors of erectile dysfunction. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A matched case-control study was conducted at the primary health care clinics during a period from May to October 2006. Four hundred twenty-five hypertensive patients and 425 age-matched normotensive attendants of primary health care clinics, aged 30-75 years, were approached for the study. Of them, 296 hypertensive participants (74%) and 298 normotensive men (70.1%) gave their consent to participate in it. The mean age of the hypertensive participants was 54.8+/-11.5 years as compared to nonhypertensive participants with a mean age of 54.5+/-12.1 years. Face-to-face interviews were based on a questionnaire that included variables on age, sociodemographic status, educational level, occupation, cigarette smoking, and blood pressure. Hypertension was defined as mild for systolic blood pressure (SBP) 120-139 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) 80-89 mmHg; moderate for SBP 140-159 mmHg and DBP 90-99 mmHg; and severe for SBP >160 mmHg and DBP >100 mmHg. All patients completed a detailed questionnaire addressing their general medical history, with special emphasis on hypertension (i.e., duration of hypertension, type of treatment, and presence of any complications). Sexual function was evaluated with the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). RESULTS: Of the 296 hypertensive patients, 196 participants reported erectile dysfunction (66.2%), while among the 298 nonhypertensive participants, only 71 had erectile dysfunction (23.8%). Of the hypertensive participants studied, 25% had severe, 29.1% had moderate, and 12.1% had mild erectile dysfunction. The percentages of various sexual activity domains were highly significant and at higher risk among hypertensive patients than normotensive men (P<0.001). Frequency and severity of erectile dysfunction increased with advancing age. CONCLUSIONS: Our results have shown that the prevalence of erectile dysfunction was significantly higher in Qatari hypertensive men than in normotensive men. Age, level of education, diabetes mellitus, occupation, and duration of hypertension were considered statistically significant predictors of erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction was more common in hypertensive individuals receiving antihypertensive treatment.

Egyptian women's attitudes and beliefs about female genital cutting and its association with childhood maltreatment.

This study aimed to establish Egyptian women's attitudes and beliefs about female genital cutting (FGC) or mutilation by applying a questionnaire module about violence to a subsample of 5,249 married women from a total of 19,474 women who participated in the 2005 Egypt Demographic Health Survey. Women were interviewed to determine if they had been exposed to marital violence in the year prior to the survey, their attitudes and beliefs about FGC, and if they physically abused their children. The association of beliefs about FGC with maternal physical abuse was examined, adjusting for exposure to marital violence and other socio-demographic variables. Of the women surveyed 16.4% and 3.4% had been exposed to physical and sexual violence, respectively, during the year prior to the survey. Around 76% of the women surveyed intended to continue the FGC practice, and 69.8% had slapped or hit their children during the year prior to the survey. Holding positive beliefs about the practice of FGC or intending to continue it was associated with maternal physical abuse and this has significant implications for health and welfare workers in Egypt and for society in general.