Head Nurses ' Job Demands and Resources and its Relationship with Their Work Engagement at Mansoura University Hospitals

Hospitals are challenged to achieve consistently superior patient outcomes while facing mounting financial constraints. Work engagement contributes to a variety of benefits for employees and the organizations for which they work. Engaged heath care professional are energized, dedicated, and motivated to persevere and complete their work. The Job Demands-Resources (JDR) model is a conceptual framework used to explain employee engagement in the workplace. The importance of work engagement has been widely recognized at an individual and an organizational level. It is important to gain a deeper understanding into the aspects of the role that enable head nurses to feel engaged.  The aim of the present study is to determine relationships between head nurses job demands and resources with their work engagement. A descriptive correlation design was used in carrying out this study. All head nurses (n=179) who working in all general units at four Mansoura University Hospitals namely; Main University Hospital, Emergency Hospital, Pediatric Hospital, and Specialized Medical Hospital were included in the study. Three tools were used for data collection, namely; Job Demands Scale, Job Resources Scale, and Work Engagement Scale. A major finding of the present study there was statistically significant correlation between head nurses' job demands-resources components and their work engagement. It was concluded that job resources play a significant role in the work engagement of head nurses and four components of job resources namely; performance feedback, growth opportunities, organizational support and job control were predictors of work engagement. It is recommended that to promote head nurses' work engagement, it is necessary to acknowledge job demands and resources because it is play an important role in their work engagement

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A PROPOSED PROGRAM BASED ON THE STORY STRATEGY TO EDUCATE PRE-SCHOOL MOTHERS ABOUT WAYS TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN FROM ELECTRONIC HARASSMENT

Purpose of Study: The study aimed to show and clarify the effectiveness of the proposed program based on the use of story strategy in educating mothers of preschool children from electronic harassment and the negative effects of internet use. Methodology: It indicated the importance of controlling and following up the use of children's websites and programs in general and in particular their excessive use of all social networking and instant messaging sites as they fastest and cheaper without parental control which makes them vulnerable to electronic harassment especially who use this sites without awareness of their danger .the program was applied on a sample consisting of (30) mother's of preschool children's in fayoum governorate, sinuras center. Result: The study found the effectiveness of the proposed program by using life stories in educating mother's of preschool children in ways to protect their children from electronic harassment, and also recommended that the role of parents in sensitizing children's to the harm caused by the use of smartphones and tablets should be enhanced and the importance of mother's devoting special to their children in addition to the need to provide sports activities through the family in use the child time and legalize the use of telephones, and theater storybooks to inform children about the importance of safe surfing and the need to download privacy protection program into virtual world sites

Parental Age and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Oman: A case-control study

Objective: This study aimed at evaluating advanced parental age as a risk factor for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in an Omani cohort. Methods: Case-control study of 278 ASD cases compared with 722 sex-matched controls retrieved from the electronic records of the Developmental Paediatric Clinic, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) between January 2015 and June 2016. Results: ASD cases (76.6% male) were mostly diagnosed between 3-4 years of age, with more than 50% of them originating from Muscat and Batinah governorates. Compared to controls, mothers from the case group had significantly higher educational level (post-secondary education versus high school/no formal education (odds-ratio (OR)=1.62; 95% C.I. 1.20-2.19). In a multivariate logistic regression, the odds ratio of maternal age as a risk for ASD increased dramatically with advancing age category (using age<25 as a reference, OR was 3.39, 6.12, 7.86 and 13.13 for age categories 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, and ≥40 years, respectively). The ORs of advancing paternal age as a risk for ASD were also statistically significant (using age<30 as referent, OR was 2.20, 2.36, and 3.12 for age categories 30-34, 35-39 and 40-44 years); however, there was a drop in the effect with paternal age ≥ 45 years (OR=1.42; 95% C.I .64-3.15). Conclusion: Both maternal and paternal increased age were associated with a higher risk of ASD; however, the association was more pronounced and more consistent with advanced maternal age compared to paternal age. Keywords: Autism; parental age; case-control stud

Intellectual Profiles of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Identification of verbal and nonverbal subscales predicting intellectual quotient

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the intelligence quotient (IQ) profile among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and identify the most important subscales that predict the IQ. The analysis of an intellectual profile with age and gender differentials and the identification of a battery of subscales of intelligence are important for clinical management of ASD among children and for facilitating placement for remedial and educational services. Methods: Data were collected through an exploratory study of 100 children aged between three and 13 years, who were referred to the department of child health and development in Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, a tertiary hospital, in Oman between June 2016 and June 2019. Results: Among the 100 participants of this study, 79% were male, resulting in a male–female ratio of 4:1. The mean of full-scale IQ was found to be 68.6 } 18.1. Furthermore, the mean of nonverbal IQ (73.5 } 17.5) was significantly higher than that of verbal IQ (65.5 } 17.6). Finally, more than half (61%) of the children were observed to have had mild to moderate impairment in their IQ levels. Conclusions: Age and gender showed no significant association with IQ level. The regression analysis identified nonverbal fluid reasoning, nonverbal visual-spatial processing, nonverbal working memory and verbal knowledge as the significant predictors of total IQ. The crucial dimensions of verbal and nonverbal IQ identified in this study can be used to evaluate complicated cases. Keywords: Autism; Intelligence; Oman