Symptoms of psychological distress amongst women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

BackgroundSince the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, several countries are still struggling to contain its spread. Apart from economic challenges, the pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health and psychological well-being of millions of people worldwide. The effects of COVID-19 are disproportionate depending on sociodemographic characteristics. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on psychological distress among women in Saudi Arabia.MethodsData were extracted from an online cross-sectional self-reported questionnaire conducted to measure symptoms of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia from 3 May to 8 May 2020. The study included a sample of 1527 women. The questionnaire was based on the COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) tool to categorise women who responded to the questionnaire as experiencing normal, mild, or severe levels of distress. Sociodemographic factors related to different levels of psychological distress among women were examined using descriptive analysis and multinomial logistic regression models.ResultsOverall, 44% of the respondents indicated symptoms of psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 36% of women showed symptoms of mild psychological distress, with 8% of women experiencing a severe distress level. The results also revealed particularly high levels of psychological distress among younger women and female healthcare workers.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic highly contributes to psychological distress among women in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is essential to establish medium- and long-term strategies that target the most vulnerable women affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

Husbands’ knowledge of breast cancer and their wives’ attitudes and practices related to breast cancer screening in Saudi Arabia: cross-sectional online survey

Background: Despite Saudi Arabia’s free and well-established cancer care program, breast cancer incidence and mortality are rising. Husbands’ knowledge, and wives’ attitudes and practices related to breast cancer screening are not well understood in Saudi Arabia. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate husbands’ knowledge, and wives’ attitudes and practices related to breast cancer screening in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional study collected data from 403 husbands in the holy city of Makkah through an online self-reported questionnaire over a period of 2 months, from May 6 to July 7, 2020. Tabulation, bivariate, and multiple regression analyses were the major tools used for data analysis. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine the association between husbands’ knowledge and wives’ behavior regarding breast cancer screening methods. Results: Husbands’ knowledge score (a 1-point increase) was significantly associated with the wives’ utilization of mammograms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.089, 95% CI 1.024-1.159) and breast self-examination (AOR 1.177, 95% CI 1.105-1.255). Husbands’ knowledge also influenced the wives’ attitudes toward learning about breast self-examination (AOR 1.138, 95% CI 1.084-1.195). There was no significant association between husbands’ knowledge and wives’ utilization of clinical breast examination. However, richer husbands showed a socioeconomic gradient concerning their wives’ utilization of clinical breast examinations (AOR 2.603, 95% CI 1.269-5.341). Conclusions: Overall, husbands’ knowledge of breast cancer influences wives’ attitudes and practices related to breast cancer screening methods in Saudi Arabia. Thus, interventions delivered to husbands might increase breast cancer awareness and survival

Telemedicine application and difficulties among Prince Sultan Medical City in Saudi Arabia

The rapid changes in the technological environment in Saudi hospitals sector have exerted significant pressures on the health services provider’s to pay attention to updating medical technology strategies in general and health service delivery strategy/telemedicine in particular. Therefore this research investigates telemedicine application and difficulties among Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC) in Saudi Arabia. This study proposes and tests a two factors model that explains the considerable variation in telemedicine application and difficulties in PSMMC. In order to explore this issue, a descriptive method was used to collect primary data through a questionnaire, which was administered in the PSMMC in Riyadh the capitals city in Saudi Arabia and, via in-depth semi- structured interviews with hospital managers and experts in the telemedicine. All heads of medical departments, IT department, telemedicine department, and medical education department in (PSMMC)-Riyadh were targeted in this research rather than a representative sample of these hospitals. A purposive sampling strategy was used to choose the participants in this research. In total, 40 senior managers were participated in this study. The results confirm that telemedicine system helps the hospital to minimize the process of referring patients to other hospitals. Furthermore, the results show that telemedicine system helps in increasing the quantity and quality of information available, which reflects positively on the quality of medical service. Regarding the difficulties of applying telemedicine the results also highlight poor training in the utilization of techniques necessary for the application of telemedicine system at the hospital. Because of the contributions made by telemedicine in improving health care services, researchers advocate gradual circulation of a draft of telemedicine at all military and governmental hospitals for capacity building and promotion by users and to avoid the difficulties that might occur

Does prolonged television viewing affect Body Mass Index? A case of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND:The rising prevalence of overweight and obesity and their health implications is a major public health concern worldwide. This study set out to understand the relationship between the number of hours spent watching television and Body Mass Index (BMI) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using data from the Saudi Health Interview Survey. METHODS:The study employed both ordinary least squares and quantile regressions to estimate the mean and distributional association of prolonged television watching and BMI. RESULTS:The findings showed that prolonged television viewing is associated with larger BMI values. Additionally, the relationship was found to be greater towards the lower and upper tails of the BMI range and insignificant in the middle of the BMI distribution. Furthermore, the findings also showed that there is a gender gap in BMI levels, where females are likely to have higher BMI values than males. CONCLUSIONS:The creation of more proactive recreational programs that can act as substitutes to television watching is recommended in order to reduce the amount of time that individuals spend watching television. It is also recommended that such interventions are tailored towards improving females' levels of physical activity. The inclusion of television programs aimed at encouraging physical exercise and healthy diets is also imperative

Socioeconomic inequalities in uptake of breast cancer screening among Saudi women: a cross-sectional analysis of a national survey

Timely and adequate screening for breast cancer could improve health outcomes and reduce health costs. However, the utilization of free breast cancer screening services among Saudi women is very low. This study aims to investigate socioeconomic inequalities in breast cancer screening among Saudi women. The data of this study were extracted from the nationally representative Saudi Health Interview Survey, conducted in 2013; the study included 2786 Saudi women. Multivariate logistic regression, the concentration curve, and the concentration index were used to examine, illustrate, and quantify income- and education-related inequalities in three outcomes: Knowledge about self-breast examination (SBE), clinical breast examination (CBE) received in the last year, and mammography, that has ever been previously carried out. Results showed a marked socioeconomic gradient in breast cancer screening services. The concentration index by income was 0.229 (SBE), 0.171 (CBE), and 0.163 (mammography). The concentration index by education was 0.292 (SBE), 0.149 (CBE), and 0.138 (mammography). Therefore, knowledge about breast cancer screening, and the utilization of screening services, were more concentrated among richer and better-educated women. Poorer and less educated women had less knowledge about self-breast examination, and had considerably less adherence to clinical breast examination and mammography. The findings are helpful for policy makers to devise and implement strategies to promote equity in breast cancer screening among Saudi women

Barriers to the implementation of public-private partnerships in the healthcare sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

BackgroundSaudi Arabia is considering increasing the role of the private sector's participation in financing and delivering healthcare services through the adoption of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). However, the adoption and successful implementation of PPPs in the Saudi healthcare sector requires careful attention to overcome potential obstacles.ObjectivesThis study investigates and identifies potential barriers to the successful implementation of PPPs in the Saudi healthcare sector.MethodsA pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 72 respondents over a two-month period. Respondents were asked to rate the degree of influence of potential key barriers using a five-point Likert scale. The collected data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.ResultsThe evidence showed that the top three barriers, as rated by the respondents, were legal barriers, including delays in receiving approval and permits and law and regulation changes, environmental barriers, including lack of transparency and accountability and technological barriers, including a shortage of professionals qualified to handle PPP projects.ConclusionsThe barriers identified suggested that the government should ensure that PPPs are implemented in a timely manner to ensure that private sector involvement yields the intended benefits. Furthermore, a stable legal and regulatory framework must be established that is properly and easily enforced to avoid confusing stakeholders with too many changes. It is also important to ensure that transparency and accountability measures are strengthened