Experiences of Jordanian Mothers and Fathers of Children with Cancer

Previous studies investigating psychological stress of parents of a child with cancer have shown inconsistent findings about parental perceived stress whose children have cancer and most of these studies were established in Western communities (with none in the Arab world). Additionally, the majority of published research focused on mothers. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore perceived stress in mothers and fathers (couples) parenting a child with cancer in Jordan. Such an exploration may contribute to the existing literature and improve overall family survivorship experiences following childhood cancer in Jordan. This qualitative study used semistructured interviews of 12 mothers and 12 fathers parenting a child with cancer in Jordan. Parents of children of various cancer diagnoses were interviewed and the ages of children were between six months and 14 years. Most mothers admitted that being with the ill child most of the time and therefore away from other healthy children, relatives and friends was the main cause of stress. However, most fathers said that employment status and financial burden were their main causes of stress after their child’s health status. Most of the interviewed couples commented that they were sharing the life situation with their partners, helping and supporting each other to overcome the challenges. Results of this study highlight the importance of recognizing the psychological needs of Jordanian mothers and fathers of a child with cancer not only at the time of diagnosis but also during the cancer journey

The Use of Information Systems in Aqaba Hotels: An Integration of TAM with Task Technology Fit and Self-Efficacy

Aims: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between hotel information system (HIS) users’ personal perceptions and beliefs of the given system and their daily routine usage intention via the technology acceptance model (TAM), considering the two external variables (motivational variables) of the model - ‘task technology fit’ (extrinsic motivation, system feature) and ‘self-efficacy’ (intrinsic motivation, personal feature). Design: Data were collected using a self-administrated questionnaire from employees of seven upscale hotels in Aqaba, Jordan, and path analysis was utilized to test structural model and hypotheses.Results: The findings revealed that Task-Technology Fit and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) affected Perceived Usefulness which the latter influenced HIS Intention to Use. However, Perceived Ease of Use did not influence Attitude towards Use although the latter affected Perceived Ease of Use. In addition, while Self-Efficacy influenced Perceived Ease of Use HIS, it did not affect the Intention to Use.Originality: This study is the first research that extends the Technology Acceptance Model by incorporating two additional factors namely; task technology fit and self-efficacy to study the use of Information Systems in Aqaba Hotels. Keywords: Information systems, Technology acceptance model, Task technology fit, Self-efficacy, Structural equation modeling, Hotel management, Jorda

The effect of Benson relaxation technique on fatigue of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis

Introduction: The previous studies showed that fatigue is a very common symptom in patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) and has the greatest effect on their activities of daily living. Benson relaxation technique (BRT) is one of the most relaxation techniques used to decrease fatigue, improve emotional status and quality of life in patients with several chronic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effect of BRT on fatigue level of patients diagnosed with MS in Jordan.Methods: This is a quasi-experimental repeated measure study. It involved six neurological clinics in the Ministry of Health and five neurological clinics at private hospitals. In this study, 95 patients returned the completed questionnaire and attended BRT.Results: The mean age of the patients was 33 years. Females accounted for 60% of the patients and almost half of the patients were single. All patients reported having a university degree and three-quarters of the patients were employed. Almost, two-thirds of the patients reported having not more than 1 time of relapse in the past 2 years. The majority of them reported <3 years from the confirmed diagnosis. Findings showed a statistical significant reduction in the overall level of fatigue including physical, cognitive, and psychosocial fatigue of patients with MS after BRT (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Results suggested that this technique is a very effective strategy for reducing fatigue in patients with MS. Therefore, in addition to prescribing medication, it is recommended that this method be applied in the care of patients diagnosed with MS

Quality of life among patients with supraventricular tachycardia post radiofrequency cardiac ablation in Jordan

Background Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a common arrhythmia with associated symptoms such as palpitation, dizziness, and fatigue. It significantly affects patients’ quality of life (QoL). Radiofrequency cardiac ablation (RFCA) is a highly effective treatment to eliminate arrhythmia and improve patients’ QoL. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of QoL among patients with SVT and examine the difference in QoL before and after RFCA. Methods One group pre-posttest design with a convenience sample of 112 patients was used. QoL was assessed by 36-Item Short Form (SF-36). Data were collected at admission through face-to-face interviews and 1-month post-discharge through phone interviews. Results There was a significant difference between QoL before (33.7±17.0) and 1 month after (62.5±18.5) the RFCA. Post-RFCA patients diagnosed with atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia had higher QoL than other types of SVT. Moreover, there were significant negative relationships between QoL and the number and duration of episodes pre- and post-RFCA. There were no significant differences in QoL based on: age, sex, working status, marital status, smoking, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Conclusions After RFCA, the QoL of patients with ST improved for both physical and mental component subscales

Parental stress when caring for a child with cancer in Jordan: a cross-sectional survey

Most studies report that being parents of a child with cancer is a stressful experience, but these have tended to focus on mothers and few have included both parents. Moreover, studies have focussed on families in Western countries and none have been published examining the psychological outcomes for parents living in an Arabic country.This research explores the stress levels of Jordanian parents caring for a child with cancer in order to identify the psychological needs of parents in this environment and to explore how mothers and fathers stress levels might differ

Predictors of stress of parents of a child with cancer: a Jordanian perspective

Most paediatric oncology studies agree that being parents of a child with cancer is an emotionally stressful event. Although an increasing number of studies have investigated psychological stress of parents of a child with cancer, few of these studies have included both parents or investigated the predictors of high stress levels for the mothers and the fathers. Moreover, studies published over the last few decades were limited to Western countries and have shown inconsistent findings about parental perceived stress whose children have cancer. This study explored differences in predictors of perceived stress between Jordanian mothers and fathers of children with cancer

Nurses' knowledge, attitudes and practices towards palliative care provided to patients diagnosed with cancer.

Aim and objectivesThis study aimed to explore the levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward palliative care (PC) among nurses working with patients diagnosed with cancer in Jordan.BackgroundPC is a growing specialty in healthcare and nursing in Jordan with an increased need to expand its scope, develop policies to govern it, and increase the awareness of its importance especially for patients diagnosed with cancer.DesignCross sectional design was used in the current study.MethodsUsing an online self-report questionnaire data was collected from 228 nurses working at four hospitals in Amman. The four hospitals were from three different healthcare sectors: one public, one educational, and two private hospitals. A convenience sampling method was employed.ResultsResults showed a low level of PC knowledge (M = 8.8), a moderate level of attitudes (M = 80.9) toward dying patients, and a moderate level of PC practices (M = 52.7). Differences in PC knowledge, attitudes, and practices were found in regard to nurses' gender, level of education, PC training, years of experience, and working sector. Significant correlations were found between PC practices with both PC knowledge and attitudes toward dying patients. No significant relationship between PC knowledge and attitudes toward dying patients.ConclusionLow level of PC knowledge and moderate level of attitudes toward dying patients. Differences in PC knowledge, attitudes, and practices were found in regard to some participants' demographics

The effect of COVID-19 vaccine tele-educational program on vaccine hesitancy and receiving the vaccine among women planning for pregnancy, pregnant or breast-feeding mothers.

BackgroundCOVID-19 hesitancy among women planning to become pregnant, who are pregnant, and who are breast-feeding is still a global phenomenon. Unfortunately, there is a lack of national educational programs that provide those groups of people with the information they need about the vaccine.ObjectiveThis study investigated the effect of the COVID-19 vaccine tele-educational program on vaccine hesitancy and receiving the vaccine among women planning for pregnancy, pregnant and breast-feeding mothers.MethodsThis study implemented a quasi-experimental pre-post design and was conducted in Jordan. It was a two-time study and had two groups of women; 220 women participated in the control group, and 205 women participated in the intervention group (those received the tele-educational program). All participating women answered the demographic characteristics sheet and the Arabic version of Hesitancy About COVID-19 Vaccination Questionnaire twice.ResultsResults showed that after conducting the program the interventional group reported significantly higher vaccination rate and lower mean score of hesitancy than the control group (M = 24.67, SD = 5.11; M = 27.45, SD = 4.92; respectively) t (423) = -4.116, p-value ConclusionsThe study concluded that awareness of pregnant women after being given the tele-education program about COVID-19 vaccination decreased their hesitancy and improved their willingness to participate in the COVID-19 vaccination. Therefore, health workers should focus on providing scientific-based information about the vaccine to reduce the doubts of pregnant women about participating in the COVID-19