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BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy is a heterogeneous group of permanent non-progressive disorders affecting the development of movement and posture, varying in severity, interfering with daily activity, and associated with multiple comorbidities. Previous studies in different regions of Saudi Arabia have shown links between caregivers' mental health and children's well-being. However, the lack of such research in the Tabuk region necessitates the development of a new survey to assess caregivers' quality of life in this specific area. METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional study, conducted during 2022-2023. It included the caregivers of Saudi children with cerebral palsy in the Tabuk region. Data was collected using an online questionnaire and was analyzed using the SPSS program (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). RESULTS: The study included 63 participants. Mothers (50.8%) and fathers (46.0%) were the primary caregivers. The comorbidities of cerebral palsy children like seizures (28.6%) and learning difficulties (19.0%) were prevalent for cerebral palsy children. Around 20.6% of participants received home health care. In terms of family quality of life, the majority expressed satisfaction with family interaction, parenting, and emotional well-being, although mixed feelings were observed. CONCLUSION: The majority of caregivers reported satisfaction in various domains of family quality of life, particularly in family interaction and parenting. However, a notable percentage expressed dissatisfaction in some areas, highlighting the complex emotional and practical challenges faced by these caregivers.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: There are high prevalence of mental health co-morbidities in people with epilepsy, with major depressive disorder being the most common among them. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the prevalence of depression among epileptic patients in Saudi Arabia. We also explored some of the sociodemographic and clinical variables associated with depression in epilepsy. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional analysis executed across the four geographical regions of Saudi Arabia and the sample size is calculated to be 358. Data collection was facilitated through a digital self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of three parts: patients' sociodemographic variables, clinical variables, and patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression score. Data processing and analytical procedures are undertaken using the SPSS software. RESULTS: Of the participants, 311 responded: 65.6% were females, and 34.4% were males. Approximately 50.5% had a confirmed epilepsy diagnosis and were included in the PHQ-9 depression score analysis. Notably, 84.7% manifested depressive symptoms, with the severe category being predominant at 84.7% and moderate at 3.8%. An intriguing observation was the heightened prevalence among the younger demographic (16 to 24 years), registering at 34.4%, a figure nearly 3% superior to older age brackets. CONCLUSION: The majority of participants manifested depressive symptoms, with a significant association noted between medication quantity and depression prevalence in epilepsy. It is imperative to broaden the scope of research, encompassing varied methodologies and spanning multiple urban centers, to procure more robust and generalizable conclusions.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Surveillance data are very essential for the effective use of available resources, the prioritization of infection control practices, and setting goals for intervention. The aim was to present the current rates of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and device utilization ratios (DUR) among the Saudi Ministry of health (MOH) hospitals. METHODS: MOH analyzed the surveillance data collected from 106 MOH hospitals enrolled in the health electronic surveillance network (HESN) between January 2022 and December 2022. The surveillance methodology was similar to the methods of the US National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) center for infection control. RESULTS: More than one million device-days of surveillance were analyzed. The rate of central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) was 2.57 per 1000 central lines days. The rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) was 1.08 per 1000 urinary catheter days. The rate of ventilator-associated events (VAE) was 4.21 per 1000 ventilator days. The average rate of pediatric/neonatal ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was 1.53 per 1000 ventilator days. The average DURs were 0.33 for central line, 0.61 for urinary catheter, 0.44 for ventilator in adult patients, and 0.26 in ventilator in pediatric/neonatal patients. In 238632 months of surveillance, the rate of dialysis events (DE) was 0.97 per 100 patient-months. In 86324 surgeries monitored, the rate of surgical site infection (SSI) was 0.87 per 100 surgeries surveyed. CONCLUSIONS: The current report can serve as a national benchmark for MOH hospitals and a regional benchmark for similar hospitals in the region.
