Experiences of obesity among Saudi Arabian women contemplating bariatric surgery: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2013 The Authors.This study explored experiences of obesity, its perceived causes and motives for surgery, as described by seven Saudi women contemplating bariatric surgery. The women experienced cultural restrictions on their physical and social activities. Obesity embodied these restrictions, attracting stigma and moral failure. Traditional clothing, foods, hospitality norms and limited outdoor female activities were regarded as barriers to weight loss. Bariatric surgery was chosen to protect health and to access normative female roles. Some were encouraged by relatives who had undergone surgery. Opting for surgery reflected both participants’ sense of powerlessness to self-manage weight and the social acceptability, within their family context, of this biomedical approach

Online teacher training in a context for forced immobility: the Case of Gaza, Palestine

This article discusses an action research study that involved the design and delivery of an online training course for teachers of Arabic to speakers of other languages in the Gaza Strip (Palestine). Grounded in Freirean pedagogy, the course aimed to respond to the employment needs of university graduates by creating opportunities for online language teaching. The action research study explored the dynamics at play within the online educational environment, to evidence elements that challenged and/or facilitated effective collaboration between trainers and trainees. This article retraces and discusses the processes through which the course moved from didacticism to engaged critical pedagogy

Understanding the risk and protective factors associated with obesity amongst Libyan adults - a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: There are a range of multifaceted behavioural and societal factors that combine to contribute to the causes of obesity. However, it is not yet known how particularly countries' cultural norms are contributing to the global obesity epidemic. Despite obesity reaching epidemic proportions in Libya, since the discovery of oil in 1959, there is a lack of information about obesity in Libyan adults. This study sought to explore the views of key informants about the risk and protective factors associated with obesity among Libyan men and women. METHODS: A series of qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with Libyan healthcare professionals and community leaders. RESULTS: Eleven main themes (risk and protective factors) were identified, specifically: socio-demographic and biological factors, socioeconomic status, unhealthy eating behaviours, knowledge about obesity, social-cultural influences, Libya's healthcare facilities, physical activity and the effect of the neighbourhood environment, sedentary behaviour, Libyan food-subsidy policy, and suggestions for preventing and controlling obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Key recommendations are that an electronic health information system needs to be implemented and awareness about obesity and its causes and consequences needs to be raised among the public in order to dispel the many myths and misconceptions held by Libyans about obesity. The current political instability within Libya is contributing to a less-active lifestyle for the population due to security concerns and the impact of curfews. Our findings have implications for Libyan health policy and highlight the urgent need for action towards mitigating against the obesity epidemic in Libya

Comparison of Methods for Detection of Blastocystis Infection in Routinely Submitted Stool Samples, and also in IBS/IBD Patients in Ankara, Turkey

BACKGROUND: This study compared diagnostic methods for identifying Blastocystis in stool samples, and evaluated the frequency of detection of Blastocystis in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: From a set of 105 stool specimens submitted for routine parasitological analysis, 30 were identified as positive for Blastocystis by the culture method. From that group of 30 positives, Lugol's stain, trichrome staining, and an immunofluorescence assay identified 11, 15, and 26 samples as positive respectively. Using culture as a standard, the sensitivity of Lugol's stain was 36.7%, trichrome staining was 50%, and the IFA stain was 86.7%. The specificity of Lugol's stain was 91%, trichrome staining was 100%, and the IFA stain was 97.3%. In the group of 27 IBS and IBD patients, using all methods combined, we detected Blastocystis in 67% (18/27) of the patients. Blastocystis was detected in 33% (2/6) of IBD patients and 76% (16/21) of IBS patients. For comparison, trichrome staining alone, the method most frequently used in many countries, would have only identified Blastocystis infection in 29% (6/21) of the IBS patients. No parasitic co-infections were identified in the IBS/IBD patients. Most Blastocystis-positive IBS/IBD patients were over 36 with an average length of illness of 4.9 years. CONCLUSIONS: Most IBS patients in this study were infected with Blastocystis. IFA staining may be a useful alternative to stool culture, especially if stool specimens have been chemically preserved

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy