Depression and Depression Literacy among Adolescent School Students

Background: Adolescent mental health is an important global public health interest. It is important to educate adolescents about mental illnesses. However, very little attention has been paid to mental health literacy among individuals in general and adolescents in particular. Objectives: This study aimed to assess depression and depression literacy levels and their correlates among a sample of school students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an anonymous self-report questionnaires to collect data among a convenient sample of school students were recruited from three public schools in the North of Jordan. Results: This study included a total of 225 participants. The mean age was 15.09 (SD = 1.89), and 55.6% were females. About 45% of the participants were found to be suffering from depressive symptoms and 27.6% of them had moderate to severe depression levels. The participants also were found to have very low depression literacy levels. A significant positive correlation was found between depression symptoms and depression literacy. The predictors of depression symptoms were gender, GPA, and family monthly income. While the predictors of depression literacy were fathers’ educational level, physical exercises, and family history of mental problems. Conclusions: The findings highlight the urgent need for improving knowledge about mental illness among adolescents. More research and strong support are highly recommended specifically pertain to issues that affect adolescents’ mental health. Implications to Nursing: The findings may benefit nursing domains, including practice, research, education, and administration. Several intervention implications and suggestions are discussed aimed at maintaining the psychological well-being of this vulnerable population.&nbsp

Impact of Separation on Refugee Families: Syrian Refugees in Jordan

The ongoing conflict in Syria, now entering its eighth year, has resulted in the largest refugee crisis since World War II. Nearly 6.5 million Syrians have become internally displaced, with an additional 5.6 million forced to leave their country to seek asylum. In the face of this displacement, greater attention is being given to complementary and alternative solutions such as reunification of separated family members. However, serious legal and procedural obstacles are obstructing the reunification of Syrian families across the Middle East and Europe. This study outlines several ways in which family separation negatively impacts Syrian refugees in Jordan. These effects are significant, and include financial burdens, increased child labour, emotional distress, broken social networks, parenting challenges and changes to familial roles

Preparation and characterization of microencapsulated phase change materials for use in building applications

A method for preparing and characterizing microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCM) was developed. A comparison with a commercial MPCM is also presented. Both MPCM contained paraffin wax as PCM with acrylic shell. The melting temperature of the PCM was around 21 C, suitable for building applications. The M-2 (our laboratory made sample) and Micronalr DS 5008 X (BASF) samples were characterized using SEM, DSC, nano-indentation technique, and Gas Chromatography/Mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Both samples presented a 6 m average size and a spherical shape. Thermal energy storage (TES) capacities were 111.73 J g 1 and 99.3 J g 1 for M-2 and Micronalr DS 5008 X, respectively. Mechanical characterization of the samples was performed by nano-indentation technique in order to determine the elastic modulus (E), load at maximum displacement (Pm), and displacement at maximum load (hm), concluding that M-2 presented slightly better mechanical properties. Finally, an important parameter for considering use in buildings is the release of volatile organic compounds (VOC's). This characteristic was studied at 65 C by CG-MS. Both samples showed VOC's emission after 10 min of heating, however peaks intensity of VOC's generated from M-2 microcapsules showed a lower concentration than Micronalr DS 5008 X

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Psychosocial and Quality of Life Experiences of Jordanian Women with Breast Cancer

The psychosocial and health-related quality of life sequelae of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment is well documented in Western cultures. Knowledge gaps in the literature remain about the experiences of women with breast cancer from the perspective of other cultures and different backgrounds, such as in Arab and Muslim women. In Jordan, much of the historical literature focused on health promotion and breast cancer prevention. Little attention has been paid to post-diagnosis cancer-related symptom management, psychosocial and spiritual phenomena. The Jordanian quantitative research literature fails to provide an in-depth understanding of the traumatic effect and complex meanings associated with breast cancer within the broader context of women’s daily life. Qualitative studies offer a systematic method to examine and describe the personal experiences of Jordanian women resulting from a breast cancer diagnosis, its subsequent treatment, and short/long-term survivorship. Qualitative studies that explore and describe the multi-dimensional nature of breast cancer survivorship in Jordanian women from a nursing perspective are missing. The research question guiding the purpose of this study was “What is the essence of the psychosocial and breast cancer-related quality of life experiences of Jordanian women with breast cancer?” A descriptive phenomenology design and methodology were used to interview a purposive sample of 14 Jordanian women with stage I-IV breast cancer obtained from an oncology clinic at one hospital located in central Jordan. The narrative interviews were conducted in Arabic, transcribed, and translated into English. The narrative data was analyzed using Giorgi’s phenomenological methods for describing the structural meanings of the lived experience of breast cancer survivorship. Major themes and sub-themes emerged and were reduced to three overarching themes: Breast cancer survivorship becomes a way of life, seeking a new normality, and moving beyond thinking of breast cancer as the death disease. One all-encompassing theme was identified: Allah is the Most Loving and the Healer. The study findings inform nurses and other healthcare providers of the health care needs of survivors. Effective interventions can be developed and tested to address Arabic women’s needs; ultimately improving their quality of life, healthcare, and disease outcomes

The degree of time management skills among school principals in Irbid Qasabah from the teachers' viewpoint

This study sought to identify the extent to which school principals in Irbid Qasabah Directorate of Education possessed time management skills from teachers’ viewpoint. And to identify the nature of the association between the principals' rate of time used and the task's significance according to their estimation. To achieve the study goals, the descriptive approach was utilized, and a questionnaire was designed with (40) items. It was administered to the study sample (n = 208) of male and female teachers from Irbid Qasabah. The findings of the study indicated that the principals of both public and private schools in Irbid Qasabah had a high level of time management skills. The findings also showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the means of the participants' estimates attributed to the difference in the variables of academic qualification and experience. Except for the gender variable, where there were statistically significant differences showing that females outperformed males

Comparing math anxiety of scientific facilities students as related to achievement, and some variables

This paper examines the relationship between mathematics anxiety and students' performance, gender, length of the studies and postponed calculus courses in scientific faculties. The data were collected from Calculus 2 students at the Hashemite University during the academic Year 2015/2016. The student sample consisted of 179 students with both genders. The instrument of the study was Electromagnetics Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (EMARS), with subscales (usefulness, confidence, fear of asking for help, persistency). The modified EMARS instrument is a five-point Likert scale which consists of (15) items. To analyze the data, the researchers found correlations, means, standard deviations, T- value, and ANOVA. The results show that there was negative effect between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance, also there were no gender differences in mathematics anxiety. In relation to length of the studies, faculty, and postponement, the study found that mathematics anxiety scores were significantly higher for seniors, information technology students, and for students that had postponed their mathematics studies.Peer reviewe

Innovative method of metal coating of microcapsules containing phase change materials

Microencapsulation of phase change materials (PCMs) is needed to prevent PCM leaking during melting. However, the low thermal conductivity of the microcapsules shell limits their applications. To enhance thermal conductivity of PCM microcapsules, a new method was developed for coating them with a metal using dopamine surface activation followed by electroless plating. The oxidative self-polymerization of dopamine (PDA) on the shell of the polymeric PCM microcapsules makes the surface active by providing chemisorption sites for metal deposition. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the metal coated microcapsules without PDA pre-treatment did not show evidence of Ag metal on the surface of microcapsules. However, PCM microcapsules were completely covered with Ag metal when they were pre-treated with PDA as indicated by SEM and EDX tests. The enhancement in the thermal conductivity of silver coated PCM microcapsules of different size and for different silver coating coverage was investigated and discussed. This was confirmed by the enhancement in the performance of these silver-coated microcapsules using thermal cycling tests. 2016 Elsevier Ltd.This publication was made possible by the NPRP award [NPRP 5-093-2-034] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu