Sleep Patterns among University Students and Insomnia Management in Primary Care Settings in Qatar: A Two-Phase Investigation

Insomnia is a public health concern that affects approximately a third of adult population worldwide. The aim of this research was to investigate insomnia and its management among university students and primary care centers in Qatar using quantitative and qualitative methods, respectively. The first phase of this research consisted of a cross-sectional quantitative survey to explore the pattern and quality of sleep among Qatar University (QU) students using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Sleep Hygiene Index. In the second phase, qualitative interviews were used to explore the perspectives of healthcare providers (HCPs) working at primary health care centers (PHCCs) regarding insomnia and its management. Approximately 70% of QU students reported scores consistent with poor sleep quality and 79% reported poor sleep hygiene. Students with good sleep hygiene compared to those with poor sleep hygiene were about four times more likely to have good sleep quality (OR= 3.66, 95% CI= 2.8 4.8, p < 0.001). The interviews with 19 HCPs generated five themes, including general perspectives on insomnia, view of primary healthcare as the setting for insomnia management, current practices for insomnia management at PHCCs, HCPs’ role perception, and challenges facing insomnia management at PHCCs. The findings from this two-phase investigation revealed that insomnia is common among university students in Qatar and that it is associated with poor sleeping habits. HCPs at PHCCs expressed awareness of the magnitude of insomnia as a problem of public health significance but appeared to find its management challenging

A Systematic Review of Instruments for the Assessment of Insomnia in Adults.

Self-reported sleep instruments remain the most practical methods for the assessment of insomnia in clinical practice. This systematic review aims to identify, describe and summarize the psychometric properties of questionnaires available for the assessment of insomnia in the adult population. In addition, the review also aimed to identify sleep instruments available in the Arabic language. A systematic literature search was conducted using the following electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, ProQuest Central, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar. The quality assessment of the instruments was conducted using two established international criteria. One hundred and seven articles were selected for inclusion, from which 31 instruments were identified and categorized based on the constructs they assess as: (1) screening for insomnia (n=14); (2) measuring the consequences of insomnia (n=8); (3) assessing the cognitive aspects of insomnia (n= 5); and (4) assessing sleep hygiene (n= 4). The review of the psychometric properties showed that the Insomnia Severity Index and the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire were the most extensively evaluated instrument. Criterion validity and reliability measures were the most commonly reported properties. Only four of the identified instruments were available in Arabic. Overall, the findings of this study indicate ample availability of sleep instruments. However, psychometric testing for several of the available sleep instruments remains incomplete, particularly responsiveness and interpretability. Our findings suggest that future studies should focus on reporting more psychometric measures to ensure the trustworthiness of these instruments

Exploration of sleep quality and sleep hygiene among QU students

Sleep is an important component of healthy lifestyles. Worldwide reports suggest that one in every three adults suffers from insomnia. University students are vulnerable to insomnia due to their stressful lifestyle and inconsistent sleeping schedules which contribute to poor sleep hygiene. The purpose of this study is to explore the prevalence of sleeping problems among university students in Qatar and to investigate factors contributing to insomnia development. A cross-sectional survey utilizing two validated sleep questionnaires, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI), were administered to Qatar University (QU) students in either English or Arabic. An online survey was sent to all QU students through e-mail. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse and report the findings. A total of 2,062 students responded to this survey. Most of the respondents were females, Qataris, and the majority of them belonged to the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business and Economics or Engineering. Around 25% of the participating students reported previous use of sleep aids. The findings indicated that the majority of the students had poor sleep quality (69.7%) and poor sleep hygiene (79%). A positive association was found between sleep quality and sleep hygiene (r = 0.39; p < 0.0001). College distribution and marital status were shown to significantly influence sleep quality (p =0.031 and p=0.02 respectively). The regression analysis revealed that sleep hygiene had the greatest effect on sleep quality (accounting for 7% of the variance) and individuals with good sleep hygiene were 4 times more likely to have good sleep quality. The findings of this study suggest that poor sleep quality and inadequate sleep hygiene practices are common among university students in Qatar, both of which may have a negative impact on students' academic performance which warrants further investigation in future studie

Biotechnology content in pharmacy curricula: Focus on Arab Countries

Introduction: Pharmaceutical biotechnology involves using the principles of biotechnology to develop drugs. With the rapid increase in biopharmaceutical products being developed and approved for use, educating pharmacy students about biotechnological products becomes paramount. However, there is a scarcity in the literature exploring biotechnology content in pharmacy education. This paper aims to explore and discuss previously published studies on biotechnology education in pharmacy curricula and will provide a brief overview of biotechnology content offered in pharmacy schools in Arab countries. Perspective: The majority of pharmacy schools in the United States and Europe offer biotechnology-related content within the curriculum as part of other courses. It has also been reported that biotechnology content is taught in 22 pharmacy schools in Arab countries. In general, biotechnology content is mostly taught as part of other pharmacy courses and is often provided as compulsory content. Including pharmaceutical biotechnology concepts in pharmacy curriculum has positive impact on pharmacy students as it increases their knowledge of biotechnology and their interest in the topic. Implication: Pharmaceutical biotechnology is an important field in which pharmacy graduates should be knowledgeable. However, there is a need to explore biotechnology content offered in pharmacy schools in other parts of the world in order to have an understanding of how different pharmacy programs prepare their students for practice. The information currently available in the literature is not enough to determine the usefulness of pharmaceutical biotechnology content currently offered to prepare pharmacists for practice. This highlights the need for further research in the area.Scopu

Integrating Language Instruction into Pharmacy Education: Spanish and Arabic Languages as Examples

Effective communication is key for healthcare providers to provide optimal care for patients. Pharmacists’ fluency in a patient’s native language is important for effective communication. Additionally, language concordance improves patients’ trust and ensures health equity. In the United States (US), Hispanics are the largest minority group, but only 36% of the pharmacy schools in the US offer Spanish courses in their curriculum. Conversely, Middle Eastern countries have implemented English as the language of instruction in pharmacy schools, though the native language of the patient population is Arabic. The discrepancy between the language of education and the language used by patients might lead to communication problems, thus limiting a pharmacist’s role in practice. This review aims to describe the efforts of pharmacy schools both in the US and Middle Eastern countries to incorporate a second language (Spanish and Arabic, respectively) in their curriculum. Spanish language content has scarcely been introduced into the pharmacy curriculum in the US, either as didactic elements (elective courses, lab sessions, modules within a course, or co-curricular programs) or as language immersion experiences (rotations and internships, nationally or abroad). In Arabic-speaking countries, an Arabic course was introduced to the pharmacy curriculum to enhance students’ communication skills. This review provides an overview of the steps taken in various pharmacy programs to prepare students for adequate multilingual speaking. The findings reveal the need for additional strategies to assess the impact of language courses on student performance and patient experience, as well as language competence in pharmacists and pharmacy students