Knowledge & attitudes toward fertility preservation (Medical and social freezing) among Lebanese women between the ages of 18 and 39 years.

Egg freezing is a relatively new and controversial procedure in the Arab region, challenging traditional perceptions of fertility and motherhood. This study aims to assess Lebanese women's awareness and acceptance of egg freezing and how these attitudes differ according to vary with age, socio-demographic characteristics, and educational level. We conducted a cross-sectional survey targeting Lebanese females aged between 18 and 39, involving 402 Lebanese women from six different institutions representing diverse cultural backgrounds. 65% of the respondents had heard of egg freezing. Younger women (18-30 years old) were 2.09 times more likely to consider egg freezing than those aged 31-39. Single women were 4.31 times more likely to consider egg freezing than women in relationships, while childless women were 5.00 times more likely compared to women who already had children. Overall, medical egg freezing was more widely accepted than social egg freezing. The most supported indication for social egg freezing was to enable women who struggled to find the right partner during their peak fertile years to have children in the future (41.5%). The most common concern that affected women's decision to undergo egg freezing was whether the procedure would be proven safe for their future children and whether it would affect their future fertility. Interestingly, in a relatively conservative country, concerns about hymenal disruption were the least prevalent, (19%). The most common concern by far was limited information on the procedure (62%). In conclusion, the study reveals that awareness and acceptance of social egg freezing among Lebanese women were higher than expected. Limited information on the procedure's details was the main impediment to higher acceptance rates, highlighting the importance of physicians and primary healthcare providers in providing reproductive-aged women with the necessary information to safeguard their reproductive potential

The interaction of personal, contextual, and study characteristics and their effect on recruitment and participation of pregnant women in research: a qualitative study in Lebanon

Abstract Background Declining participation rates are impeding health research. Little is known about factors influencing the decision to participate in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Therefore, this paper reports on the various individual factors and their with contextual factors in influencing participation in research among pregnant women and the recommendations to enhance their recruitment in Lebanon. Methods This study used a qualitative research design drawing on focus groups and in-depth interviews. The Theoretical Domain Framework guided data collection and analysis. The three participant groups included: Group 1-Pregnant women (n = 25) attending public pre-natal events and antenatal clinics in Beirut; Group 2-Pregnant women (n = 6) already enrolled in the ongoing Mother and Infant Nutritional Assessment birth cohort study; Group 3-Key informants (n = 13) including health care workers involved in recruiting pregnant women. Conversations were audio recorded, transcribed, translated into English, and thematically analyzed. Results Three main factors influencing participation were revealed, with each factor encompassing several sub-themes: (1) personal factors (altruism, self-confidence, personal interest in the topic, previous understanding of the nature and purpose of research, education level, and previous research experience), (2) contextual factors (societal factors, family and friends), and (3) study characteristics (burden of the study, ethical considerations, incentives, and research interpersonal skills and physician endorsement to participate). The results suggested a dynamic interaction among the identified factors, forming two intersecting axes, with a four-quadrant configuration. The y- and x-axes represented personal factors and contextual factors, respectively. Individuals positioned on the lower-left quadrant were the least likely to participate; those on the upper-right quadrant were the most likely to participate; while those on the upper-left and lower-right quadrants were indecisive. Study characteristics seemed to affect the decision of pregnant women to participate situated in any of the four quadrants. Specific recommendations to improve participation were also identified. Conclusions Our findings suggested an interaction of personal factors, contextual factors, and study characteristics affecting subjects’ participation. This interaction integrates factors into a novel dynamic framework that could be used in future studies. The recommendations identified may help improve participation of pregnant women in health research hence enhancing the quality and generalizability of research findings in LMIC

Which volume matters more? A systematic review and meta-analysis of hospital vs surgeon volume in intra-abdominal emergency surgery

Background: Understanding the impact of hospital and surgeon volume on emergency intra-abdominal surgery procedures and determining which measure is more influential in improving outcomes can guide regionalization of care. This systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression synthesizes evidence regarding the impact of hospital and surgeon volume on mortality.Methods: A literature search without language restriction was performed in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases. Cohort studies assessing the impact of hospital/surgeon volume on mortality after intra-abdominal emergency procedures with data collected after the year 2000 were included and analyzed using a random effects model. A sub-group analysis assessing impact of hospital volume on high and low complexity procedures and ruptured aortic artery aneurysm (RAAA) repair was performed. Another sub-group analysis comparing high-volume surgeons in a low-volume hospital and low-volume surgeons in a high-volume hospital was also performed. PROSPERO: CRD42022358879.Results: The search yielded 2153 articles, of which 33 cohort studies were included and determined to be good quality using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. In 22 studies with available data for the meta-analysis, mortality was significantly higher in the low hospital volume and low surgeon volume cohort. The sub-group analysis found significantly higher mortality only in high complexity procedures and RAAA repair. Mortality was significantly lower in the cohort with high-volume surgeons at low-volume hospitals.Conclusion: High hospital volume was associated with lower mortality in all except low-complexity intra-abdominal emergency procedures. High surgeon volume was associated with lower mortality and there is limited evidence of it being the most protective

Does practice make perfect? The impact of hospital and surgeon volume on complications after intra-abdominal procedures

Background: There is increasing interest in the regionalization of surgical procedures. However, evidence on the volume-outcome relationship for emergency intra-abdominal surgery is not well-synthesized. This systematic review and meta-analysis summarize evidence regarding the impact of hospital and surgeon volume on complications.Methods: We identified cohort studies assessing the impact of hospital/surgeon volume on postoperative complications after emergency intra-abdominal procedures, with data collected after the year 2000 through a literature search without language restriction in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases. A weighted overall complication rate was calculated, and a random effect regression model was used for a summary odds ratio. A sensitivity analysis with the removal of studies contributing to heterogeneity was performed (PROSPERO: CRD42022358879).Results: The search yielded 2,153 articles, of which 9 cohort studies were included and determined to be good quality according to the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. These studies reported outcomes for the following procedures: cholecystectomy, colectomy, appendectomy, small bowel resection, peptic ulcer repair, adhesiolysis, laparotomy, and hernia repair. Eight studies (2,358,093 patients) with available data were included in the meta-analysis. Low hospital volume was not significantly associated with higher complications. In the sensitivity analysis, low hospital volume was significantly associated with higher complications when appropriate heterogeneity was achieved. Low surgeon volume was associated with higher complications, and these findings remained consistent in the sensitivity analysis.Conclusion: We found that hospital and surgeon volume was significantly associated with higher complications in patients undergoing emergency intra-abdominal surgery when appropriate heterogeneity was achieved