The emotional and social concerns of mothers of children with cleft palate: A cross-sectional study.

PROBLEM: Among birth defects, a cleft palate is one of the most common defects globally, with a prevalence rate of 1 in 700 live-born children per annum. Caring for a child with cleft palate is considered a challenge for mothers who provide around clock care for these children. Despite this, there is limited knowledge of their experiences and needs particularly in low resource settings. BACKGROUND: Previous literature emphasized that mothers of children with cleft palate face many challenges involving emotional distress, social isolation, and financial burden. QUESTION: To investigate the emotional and social concerns of mothers of children with Cleft Palate compared to mothers of children without cleft palate. METHODS: A comparative study design was conducted at the Jordanian Royal Medical Services using convenience sample of 312 mothers of children with and without cleft palate in Jordan. FINDINGS: There was a significant difference in the presence of anxious feelings between mothers of children with cleft palate and those mothers without cleft palate children. Within group comparison for mothers of children with cleft palate has shown a significant difference in their social concerns with regards to social support and child's future. DISCUSSION: Mothers of children with cleft palate reported significantly higher levels of sadness feelings. These emotions could be attributed to several factors, including the financial burden associated with medical treatment and interventions, the burden of caring for a child with special needs, the social stigma related to the child's appearance, the lack of public awareness, and the insufficient social support services. CONCLUSION: Mothers of children with Cleft Palate experience a considerable amount of emotional and social concerns which require urgent interventions.

Indicators of Healthcare Services Utilization among the Syrian Refugee Population in Jordan: An Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Sufficient healthcare services utilization among the Syrian refugee population is one of the most important human rights. Vulnerable populations, such as refugees, are often deprived of sufficient access to healthcare services. Even when healthcare services are accessible, refugees vary in their level of utilization of these services and their health-seeking behavior. PURPOSE: This study aims to examine the status and indicators of healthcare service access and utilization among adult Syrian refugees with non-communicable diseases residing in two refugee camps. METHODS: The cross-sectional descriptive design was conducted by enrolling 455 adult Syrian refugees residing in the Al-Za'atari and Azraq camps in northern Jordan, using demographical data, perceived health, and the "Access to healthcare services" module, which is a part of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). A logistic regression model with binary outcomes was used to explore the accuracy of the variables influencing the utilization of healthcare services. The individual indicators were examined further out of 14 variables, according to the Anderson model. Specifically, the model consisted of healthcare indicators and demographic variables to find out if they have any effect on healthcare services utilization. RESULTS: Descriptive data showed that the mean age of the study participants (n = 455) was 49.45 years (SD = 10.48), and 60.2% (n = 274) were females. In addition, 63.7% (n = 290), of them were married; 50.5% (n = 230) held elementary school-level degrees; and the majority 83.3% (n = 379) were unemployed. As expected, the vast majority have no health insurance. The mean overall food security score was 13 out of 24 (±3.5). Difficulty in accessing healthcare services among Syrian refugees in Jordan's camps was significantly predicted by gender. "Transportation problems, other than fee problems" (mean 4.25, SD = 1.11) and "Unable to afford transportation fees" (mean 4.27, SD = 1.12) were identified as the most important barriers to accessing healthcare services. CONCLUSION: Healthcare services must imply all possible measures to make them more affordable to refugees, particularly older, unemployed refugees with large families. High-quality fresh food and clean drinking water are needed to improve health outcomes in camps.

Determinants of Substance Use Among High School Students in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: Substance use is becoming a global health problem that concerns health professionals and decision makers. Studies showed that teens are at higher risk for substance use. PURPOSE: the purpose of this study was to examine the prediction power of the selected sociodemographic and psychological factors on substance use among high school students in Jordan. Specific aims were; 1) to explore substance use among high school students in Jordan, and 2) to examine the prediction power of sociodemographic and psychological factors on substance use among high school students in Jordan. METHODS: This is a predictive cross-sectional study where data was collected using self-administered questionnaires from a convenience sample of 1497 high school students in the central district of Jordan. RESULTS: Students who reported that they have never used stimulant agent were 91.5%, tranquilizer sedative 87.2%, hypnotic agent 85.8% and antidepressant agent 94.5%, while those never used nicotine were 81.7%. Coping efficacy (crude OR = 1.07, CI 95% = 1.03 - 1.12), psychological distress (crude OR = 1.07, CI 95% = 1.03 - 1.11), and perceived social support from family (crude OR = 1.20, CI 95% = 0.95 - 1.24) were significantly associated with substance use. While perceived social support from friends was not. CONCLUSION: High school students are at risk for the use of various forms of substances and mainly the over counter ones. Legitimate rules of screening and using substance prevention programs at high schools considering the psychological factors is a priority for school health professionals and policy makers.

Psychiatric staff attitudes toward coercive measures: An experimental design.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a training program on the attitudes of psychiatric nurses toward using coercive measures. DESIGN AND METHODS: A repeated measures time-series design with two-equivalent groups was used. A convenience sample of 48 psychiatric nurses were recruited. Data collection was conducted using the Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale. FINDINGS: Results showed the effectiveness of the training program in improving nurses' attitude toward coercive measures. After 4 weeks of the training, nurses in the intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in their attitude mean scores. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Equipping the psychiatric nurses with essential clinical knowledge and skills concerning the appropriate application of coercive measures policy were imperative issues that might help the nurses in dealing with these clinical complex situations effectively.

Health satisfaction and family impact of parents of children with cancer: a descriptive cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The impact on parents of coping with a child who has cancer can be both severe and multifarious. Considerable distress persists throughout the treatment phase, persisting even after completion of treatment with heightened anxiety and stress associated with thoughts of recurrence or relapse. AIM: The purpose was to investigate the links between parents' satisfaction with the health care offered to their child with cancer and the impact on families of caring for such a child (including their health-related quality of life) in a Middle Eastern country. STUDY DESIGN: A descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional design was adopted. Arabic versions of parent-completed, validated instruments were completed by 113 parents whose child had cancer. RESULTS: Family relationship was found to be the best functioning domain, and daily activities were seen to be the poorest. In general, parents expressed satisfaction with their child's health care, but inadequate attention had been paid to their emotional needs. Cases in which children were reported to exhibit more emotional and behavioural problems correlated with greater negative impact on the family and disrupted family functioning. DISCUSSION: Parental quality of life was more severely affected than family quality of life. This results from mothers taking up most of the caregiver burden, and the impact on mothers was significantly greater than that on fathers. Children were protected from stress and anxiety by their mother. This burden on mothers resulted in deficits in emotional, social and physical functioning. PRACTICE AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Nurses and other health professionals should redress the balance between family-centred care strategies and child-centred approaches. Effort is needed to provide psychological support to parents by ensuring adequate preparation of staff, especially nurses, to recognise need and provide support in a therapeutic environment. Support may be needed for years after the diagnosis. This is a health professional role that may currently be neglected, and for which training is essential.

Prevalence and association of premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder with academic performance among female university students.

BACKGROUND: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is particularly a female psychological disorder that has consequences on female students' behavior, cognitive abilities, mental health status, and academic performance. PURPOSE: To examine the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and PMDD, and their relationship with academic performance among female university students in Jordan. METHOD: Prospective-correlational design was employed among 858 university students. Data collected in regards to daily record of signs of PMDD and PMS, academic motivation, and student's involvement. RESULTS: Prevalence of PMS was 92.3% and that of PMDD was 7.7%. There were significant differences in self-determination levels between students with PMS and those with PMDD. CONCLUSION: PMDD symptoms have a negative impact on female students' academic performance; thus, mental health professionals have a major role in determining factors that buffer severity of PMDD among females.

Investigating Physical, Psychological and Social Well-being of Older Persons in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: Older persons are overwhelmed with psychological stressors due to requirements related to the management of their health problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate physical, psychological and social wellbeing of older persons. METHOD: Cross-sectional explorative design used convenience sample of 1058 older persons in Jordan. Data was collected in regard to physical, psychological and social wellbeing using selfreported format. RESULTS: The three most bothered physical symptoms are; pain in arms, legs, or joints; feeling tired or having low energy; and back pain with percentages of 71.5% (n=756), 69.6% (n=737), and 62.2% (n=754), respectively. Older persons had slight to mild level of depression (M = 17.9, SD = 7.7), moderate to high level of life satisfaction (M=24.1, SD=5.6), moderate level perception of social support, and mild to moderate level psychological distress (M = 39.1 (SD = 11.3). Depression among participants has significant and positive association with sleep disturbance (r = .21, p < .001), psychological distress level (r =.50, p <.001). There was a significant difference between males and females in depression (t = -4.40, p <.001), psychological distress (t = -3.38, p <.001), life satisfaction (t = 2.09, p = .04) and sleep disturbances (t = -2.16, p = .03). CONCLUSION: Older persons are in need for periodic assessment for their psychosocial wellbeing in their routine checkups and visits to outpatients units. Research is needed to investigate impact of psychological and social wellbeing on other biological and health care related issues such as access and utilization of care and quality of life among older persons.