Knowledge and Attitudes towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Senior Medical Students in King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

Objectives. This study assessed the knowledge and attitudes regarding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in medical students in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, it evaluated their views on the incorporation of CAM in their medical syllabus. Methods. The study was conducted by selecting a cross-sectional sample of senior medical students in the Faculty of Medicine. A validated and reliable self-administered questionnaire was used to explore the knowledge, attitude, and benefits of CAM. It was distributed to a sample of 273 students. Results. The study included 242 students, making the response rate 88.6%. Only two-thirds of students (62.4%) were aware of acupuncture principles and only 17.4% recognized that chiropractic is associated with pain management. The knowledge of common herbs such as St. John's Wort, Echinacea, and Ginkgo biloba was limited among the students. Older students had a positive CAM attitude compared to younger students ( = 0.027). Conclusion. Students attitudes toward CAM learning were encouraging regardless of their limited knowledge on the subject. A high percentage of students agreed that CAM in combination with conventional therapy is beneficial in treating unusual cases, but the choice of CAM should be based on evidence. Furthermore, medical students are still reluctant to have CAM practitioners in their referral network

Hand hygiene knowledge and attitude of medical students in western Saudi Arabia

Background The practice of hand hygiene (HH) has prime importance among Health Care Professionals (HCPs) and non-compliance could cause adverse consequences. By keeping the importance of HH in mind, this study aims at investigating the knowledge and attitudes towards HH among medical students and interns at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (SA). Methods The study includes 453 medical students and interns (189 males & 264 females). This study was completed in three months; from September to November 2017. The World Health Organization (WHO) HH questionnaire was used and data were analyzed on SPSS-21. Results Two-third of the participants 292 (64.2%) had formal training in HH in the last three years. Almost half of the participants 254 (56.1%) had correct knowledge regarding the major course of transmission of potentially detrimental microbes among patients in the healthcare premises. Just 124 (27.4%) of the respondents had the correct knowledge about the most common basis of germs accountable for healthcare-related infections. Females had significantly better knowledge than males regarding the type of HH technique needed before palpation of the abdomen (177(54%) Vs. 151(46%); P < 0.002), before an injection (175(54.5%) Vs. 146(45.5%); P < 0.007), after emptying a bedpan (207(64.7%) Vs. 113(35.3%); P < 0.001), following discarding examination gloves (256(60.4% Vs. 168(39.6%); P < 0.001] and after exposure to blood (200(64.1%) Vs. 112(35.%); P < 0.001). Female participants had better knowledge than males regarding the type of HH actions. Females also had a significantly better attitude towards the importance of HH than males (240(62.5%) Vs. 144(37.5%); P < 0.001). Conclusion The majority of the participants’ knowledge regarding HH was not up to the mark; however, female students had better knowledge compared to male students. The medical students and interns’ knowledge and positive attitude towards HH can play a pivotal role in preventing HCPs associated infections and it would overall decrease the infection-related burden on the hospital and governmental budgets. It is suggested that multi-dimensional plans are required to change this low compliance to a higher rate

Investigation of enhanced double weight code in point to point access networks

© 2020 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. In this paper, an investigation and evaluation to enhanced double weight (EDW) code is performed, a new technique for code structuring and building using modified arithmetical model has been given for the code in place of employing previous technique based on Trial Inspections. Innovative design has been employed for the code into P2P networks using diverse weighted EDW code to be fitting into optical CDMA relevance applications. A new developed relation for EDW code is presented, the relation is based on studying and experimenting the effect of input transmission power with code weight, and the relation developed using numerical analysis method. This relation makes the estimation for the system input power needed more efficient. The results of the code has been explained by eye diagram and parametric illustrations from the simulated results. The result shows a magnificent performance of the code during high number of users and weight. On the other hand, the relation developed for power measurement helps to prevent power loss and consumption