Predictors of burden perceived by informal caregivers of patients registered in the home health-care unit.

Context: Studies have reported multiple variables that can affect the level of burden on informal caregivers. The need for informal caregivers is expected to increase in the upcoming years. Informal caregivers are an important extension of the formal health-care system. Aims: The aim of this study was to discover the characteristics of informal caregivers of adult patients, to determine the socioeconomic, psychological, and physical consequences facing informal caregivers, and to measure caregivers' burdens and needs. Settings and Design: An analytical cross-sectional study that was carried out in Saudi Arabia, in the home health-care unit of King Abdelaziz University Hospital in the city of Jeddah. Subjects and Methods: A.validated self-administered questionnaire in Arabic and English was used. The required sample size was 122 participants. Ethical approval was obtained. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics consisted of means, standard deviations, frequency tables, cross-tabulation, and charts. Categorical variables were compared using the Chi-square test to determine significant relationships between variables. Results: A.total of 124 participants responded to a request to participate in the study. The majority of the caregivers (92) were family members. There was a significant relationship between the nature of the connection between the caregiver and the recipient in association with the burden scale (P = 0.001). No significant relationship was found between caregivers' gender, marital status, or income level and the burden score. Conclusions: Most of the caregivers reported no burden to minimal burden. The relationship with the care recipient has a negative impact on the burden scale.

Résumé Contexte: Des études ont fait état de plusieurs variables qui peuvent influer sur le niveau de charge des aidants naturels. Le besoin d'aidants naturels devrait augmenter dans les années à venir. Les aidants naturels constituent un prolongement important du système formel de soins de santé. Objectifs: Le Le but de cette étude était de découvrir les caractéristiques des aidants proches de patients adultes, de déterminer les effets socio-économiques, psychologiques, et les conséquences physiques auxquelles sont confrontés les aidants naturels, et pour mesurer les fardeaux et les besoins des aidants. Paramètres et conception : une analyse étude transversale qui a été menée en Arabie Saoudite, dans l'unité de soins à domicile de l'Hôpital Universitaire Roi Abdelaziz de la ville de Djeddah. Sujets et méthodes: Un questionnaire auto-administré validé en arabe et en anglais a été utilisé. La taille d'échantillon requise était 122 participants. L'approbation éthique a été obtenue. Analyse statistique utilisée: Les statistiques descriptives se composaient de moyennes, d'écarts types, tableaux de fréquences, tableaux croisés et graphiques. Les variables catégorielles ont été comparées à l'aide du test du chi carré pour déterminer les relations significatives entre variables. Résultats: Au total, 124 participants ont répondu à une demande de participation à l'étude. La majorité des soignants (92) étaient des membres de la famille. Il y avait une relation significative entre la nature du lien entre le soignant et le bénéficiaire dans association avec l'échelle de charge (P = 0,001). Aucune relation significative n'a été trouvée entre le sexe, l'état matrimonial ou le niveau de revenu des aidants. et le score de charge. Conclusions: La plupart des soignants ont signalé un fardeau nul à un fardeau minimal. La relation avec le bénéficiaire des soins a un impact négatif sur l'échelle de la charge. Mots-clés: Fardeau de l'aidant, personnes âgées et bénéficiaires de soins, soins à domicile, aidants proches.

Prevalence and Correlates of Sleep Disorders Among Pediatric Inpatients in a Tertiary Pediatric Hospital.

Background It is possible to define sleep disorders as any disturbance in sleep timing, quality, or quantity that results in daytime distress and impairment in functioning that, in turn, affects the baseline functional status of an individual. Our study aimed to describe how sleep disorders might affect pediatric inpatients at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) as well as estimate their prevalence (2021-2022). We assessed the sleep habits using questionnaires and analyzed and combined these data to create rankings to compare the different issues affecting sleep habits in pediatric patients. Methodology Two scoring systems were used in this study, namely (a) the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and (b) the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire. Analyses of the data were conducted using SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and GraphPad Prism version 8 (GraphPad Software, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA). Results The prevalence of sleep disorders and their correlations were evaluated among 98 pediatric inpatients at KAUH, Saudi Arabia, between 2021 and 2022. The average duration of hospital stay was 11.97 ± 11.0 days (N = 78), and the average number of previous admissions was 2.85 ± 3.7 (N = 93). Conclusions According to the sleep behavior domain of the CSHQ, most children woke up sweating, screaming, and inconsolable during the night. Furthermore, bedtime resistance and sleep anxiety were the most prevalent sleep disturbances observed in the study population.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Their Effect on Irritable Bowel Syndrome Among Saudi Arabian Adults.

Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur before 18 years of age. ACEs have been associated with many negative health problems, including the development of chronic diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain. We investigated the prevalence of ACEs among patients with IBS, identified the types of ACEs commonly related to patients with IBS, and further assessed the impact of ACEs on IBS severity. Methodology A cross-sectional study was performed. The study targeted patients with IBS aged ≥ 18 years who were recruited from gastroenterology outpatient clinics at King Abdulaziz University Hospital. Adults were contacted and invited to take part in the study by completing a survey. Data were collected using two validated questionnaires, the ACE questionnaire for adults and the IBS symptom severity scoring system. Results The study included 109 patients with IBS (59.6% females). The prevalence of ACEs (patients with IBS exposed to at least one ACE) was 63.3%. The most prevalent type was emotional abuse (34.9%), followed by both physical abuse and emotional neglect (28.4%). Females reported significantly more ACEs (p = 0.035) than males. The overall IBS symptoms (r = 0.195, p = 0.043) and abdominal pain (r = 0.240, p = 0.012) severity were significantly correlated with total ACEs score. Conclusions Our findings point to a probable association between ACEs exposure and IBS, demonstrating their long-term impacts on symptoms severity. Further studies are needed to acquire a better understanding of the potential impact of ACEs on IBS.

Parents' perception of cyberbullying of their children in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: The effect of cyberbullying varies from the small levels of discomfort to serious psychological and social issues. Studies on parents' perception of cyberbullying in Saudi Arabia are scarce. The aim of this study was to determine parents' awareness and perception of cyberbullying of their children in Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done on 1249 parents in Saudi Arabia using a standardized validated questionnaire. The questions were on cyberbullying and its association with the school, the difference between cyberbullying and traditional bullying, the importance of parents' attention and their knowledge of cyberbullying, and the platform on which they think cyberbullying occurs. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24. Qualitative data were presented as frequencies and percentages while mean and standard deviation were computed for quantitative data. Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, as appropriate, were applied to test for statistical significance. RESULTS: About 43% parents strongly agreed that cyberbullying was more harmful than bullying in the schoolyard. Parents reported that video games were the most common social platform for cyberbullying. About 64% parents strongly believed that cyberbullying caused psychological harm, and 78% parents responded that it was important to monitor the child's use of the Internet. Seventy-eight percent of parents strongly believed that schools should be proactive in addressing cyberbullying. As for the parents' role, 72.8% strongly believed that parents should be more proactive in addressing cyberbullying, whereas 27.9% thought that parents' involvement would reduce it. Most participants (75.1%) said that more laws should be passed to prevent or punish cyberbullying. CONCLUSION: There is a need to raise the awareness of the Saudi community about the effects and consequences of cyberbullying.

Childhood anxiety disorders prevalence in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of childhood anxiety disorders in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study, between September and November 2019, in Saudi Arabia. The study group included the parents of 468 primary school children, aged 6-12 years. Parents completed the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) screening instrument, translated to Arabic. The measured outcome was the prevalence of childhood anxiety disorders, determined from the scores on the SCARED instrument. Results: Childhood anxiety disorders prevalence were as follows: 32.7% had one anxiety, 18.4% had 2, 10.9% had 3, 8.1% had 4, and 7.7% had 5. Of note, 22.2% of children did not have an anxiety disorder. Conclusion: Our results reveal a high prevalence of childhood anxiety disorders among primary school age children in Saudi Arabia. Based on these findings, conducting awareness campaigns and providing educational programs on childhood anxiety disorders might be important to improve the health outcomes of children.

Performance Evaluation of EEG Based Mental Stress Assessment Approaches for Wearable Devices.

Mental stress has been identified as the root cause of various physical and psychological disorders. Therefore, it is crucial to conduct timely diagnosis and assessment considering the severe effects of mental stress. In contrast to other health-related wearable devices, wearable or portable devices for stress assessment have not been developed yet. A major requirement for the development of such a device is a time-efficient algorithm. This study investigates the performance of computer-aided approaches for mental stress assessment. Machine learning (ML) approaches are compared in terms of the time required for feature extraction and classification. After conducting tests on data for real-time experiments, it was observed that conventional ML approaches are time-consuming due to the computations required for feature extraction, whereas a deep learning (DL) approach results in a time-efficient classification due to automated unsupervised feature extraction. This study emphasizes that DL approaches can be used in wearable devices for real-time mental stress assessment.