Quality of life in prostate cancer survivors in developing countries: The case of the Gaza Strip, Palestine

Background & Aim: Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in males and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Palestine. Although, many studies were conducted in de-veloped countries to evaluate quality of life (QOL) in survivors of prostate cancer, the researchers could not find any study that was conducted in a developing country including Palestine. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the QOL of prostate cancer survivors residing in Gaza Strip, Palestine, as an example of a developing country, and compare it with the literature. Methods & Materials: A total of a 121 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer and live in Gaza Strip participated in this cross-sectional study. The University of California at Los Angeles Prostate-Specific Index including the RAND 36-Item Health Survey v2 was used to assess QOL of participants. Results: Age of participants’ ranged between 52 and 89 years with a mean of 71.80 (SD 7.66). The greatest majority of participants (n= 94, 77.67%) were diagnosed with prostate cancer after the age of 60. The mean scores for the entire general QOL items was 47.93 (SD= 22.46) and the mean for all Prostate Cancer Index-University of California items was 44.20 (SD= 16.16). Conclusion: Prostate cancer survivors living in Gaza Strip, Palestine have lower level of QOL than their counterparts who live in developed courtiers. These differences could be related to early screening and advanced technology used to treat prostate cancer in developed countries. Health care providers and health care policy makers need to improve provided health care services and introduce screening

End of Life-Decisions: An Islamic Perspective

Patients who live with a low quality of life and suffer from chronic pain may wish to end their suffering through different means such as active euthanasia, passive euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide. These alternatives to end one’s own life create many ethical dilemmas for health care professionals, patients, and family members. Some of these decisions are forbidden in Islamic Religion, while others are permitted. In this paper, the authors will discuss how Islam looks at these decisions. Knowing about how Islam deals with such decisions will be of great help for health care providers who take care of Muslim patients. It will also help patients and their families in making their decisions at the end of life

Assessing Barriers to and Level of Adherence to Hypertension Therapy among Palestinians Living in the Gaza Strip: A Chance for Policy Innovation

Introduction. Hypertension is a major health concern, especially in low-income countries. Nonadherence and poor or no persistence in adhering to hypertension treatment regimens result in uncontrolled high blood pressure, increasing rates of mortality and morbidity, and preventable healthcare costs. The aim of this study was to assess the level of adherence and barriers to treatment regimens among hypertensive patients living in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Methods. A convenience sample of 648 participants completed the Hill-Bone Compliance to High Blood Pressure Therapy Scale. The great majority of participants (n = 521, 80.4%) was highly adherent to their treatment regimen, 123 participants (18.98%) were classified as moderately nonadherent, and 4 (0.62%) participants were classified as highly nonadherent to their hypertension treatment regimen. Participants of this study showed the highest adherence rate to the domain of medication adherence (mean of 1.42 out of 4) followed by appointment keeping (mean 1.8), while they were least adherent to diet (mean of 2.18). The greatest three barriers to adherence to the recommended treatment regimen reported by participants were inability to exercise, inability to resist fast and fried food, and inability to keep themselves away from salty foods. Conclusion. Overall adherence to medication in Gaza was surprisingly good in patients with a diagnosis of hypertension for at least one year. However, adherence to lifestyle advice or dietary regimes remains poor. A combination of interventions using low-cost mobile technology, combined with face-to-face interventions by healthcare professionals, can be applied to improve adherence to hypertension treatment regimens in order to reduce the consequences of uncontrolled blood pressure