Parental Attitude towards the Prescription of Psychotropic Medications for Mental Disorders in Children in a Tertiary Care University Hospital in Oman

Objectives: This study investigated parental attitudes towards psychotropic drugs for children's mental disorders. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to parents of children attending a child psychiatry clinic at a tertiary hospital in Muscat, Oman. Similarly, in a small proportion, other caregivers filled out the questionnaire in case the child attended with them. The questionnaire comprised questions regarding parents' opinions, and attitudes about psychotropic medications use. The logistic regression model was used to identify the risk factors associated with parents who prefer to consult a folk healer (FH) for children with mental disorders. Results: A total of 299 parents agreed to participate in the study. The majority of them (81.6%, n=244) agreed that they would give their child psychotropic medications if necessary, but 25.4% of them (n=76) would consult a FH before consulting a psychiatrist if their child experienced psychiatric symptoms. Married parents were 14 times (OR=14.5, p=0.011) more likely to consult a FH than were separated or divorced parents. Caregivers with a monthly income below 500 OMR and between 500-1,000 OMR were two times (OR=2.5, p=0.016) and three times (OR=3.2, p<.001), respectively, more likely to consult a FH than those with a monthly income of more than 1,000 OMR. Parents who disagreed with giving psychotropic medications to their children were three times (OR=3.7, p<.001) more likely to consult a FH than were parents who agreed to give psychotropic medications to their children if necessary. Conclusion: Most parents agreed to give their children psychotropic medications if it were deemed necessary. However, a sizeable proportion of parents and caregivers preferred to consult a FH before accessing mental health services. Keywords: Parents; Children; Attitudes; Psychotropic Drugs; Oma

The differential mediating roles of resilience in the relationship between meaningful living and stress among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

The current literature, mostly Euro-American based, indicates that the presence of meaning in life (MIL) improves resilience and lowers stress. However, the differential mediating roles of resilience in the relationship between the search for and presence of MIL, and stress have not been explored. This study aimed to investigate the differential mediating roles of resilience in the relationship between the presence of and search for MIL, and stress among Omani college students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study consisted of the Brief Resilience Scale, Perceived Stress Scale 4, and Meaning in Life Questionnaire, as well as socio-demographic questions. A path analysis model was used to examine the hypothesis. A total of 970 Omani college students responded to the questionnaire. Findings indicate that searching for MIL was significantly associated with a high level of stress directly (β = 0.023; p < 0.001) and indirectly, through a negative effect on resilience (β =  0.006; p < 0.001). Conversely, the presence of MIL was significantly associated with a decreased level of stress directly (β = − 0.045; p < 0.001) and indirectly via a positive effect on resilience (β = − 0.151; p < 0.001). In keeping with the proposed hypothesis, this study contributes to the current knowledge, by extrapolating the effect of searching for MIL on resilience and stress, and culturally re-contextualizing MIL research. University counseling centers could adopt meaning-based strategies to mitigate stress by promoting meaningful living and resilience

Collaborative and Non-Collaborative Educational Virtual Reality User Experience Principles for Engineering Training

Virtual Reality (VR) technologies are visualization techniques that relate to pure virtual presence, and they are now gaining a lot of interest for boosting communications in professional work in the field of medicine, treatment, tourism, and education (Jones et al., 2020; Takagi et al., 2019; Mofokeng & Matima, 2018; Alhalabi, 2016). It is argued that VR has positive implications in education and training. This study investigates the universal Virtual Reality (VR) user-experience principles reviewed in the literature to be used in designing and developing VR experience for engineering training. Also, it compares collaborative and non-collaborative VR training experiences according to the identified list of the universal VR user-experience principles. The population of the study consisted of all level 3 students in systems engineering at the Military Technological College (MTC) for the academic year 2020/2021. The population consisted of 10 groups (M= 250 students). Considering the Emergency remote teaching and the social distancing regulations, the researcher chose Level 3 students (35 students) who were available in-campus at the time of the experiment. These students were available in-campus due to internet connectivity issues at their homes and they were allowed to stay in-campus for a short time to use campus facilities to continue their online study. There are some limitations and recommendation in this study. First, the small sample size could be extended in the future work to include other departments and engineering colleges. Second, further study may be needed to detect the effectiveness of the collaborative and non-collaborative VR experiences with regard to the performance, attitude and perception of the VR experience. Third, due to the fact that training is a long process, the best way to understand this process entirely is by conducting longitudinal studies. The data collection period in this study was a short period in which to generate precise and credible findings that inform policy makers about VR UX evaluation. Therefore, it is recommended that a longitudinal study is conducted to compensate for the short period of the current study. Finally, the current study examined students’ VR UX. A further study might focus on other important variables such as teachers’ VR UX or students’ motivation in various departments

Patients&rsquo; and Nurses&rsquo; Perceptions of Diabetes Self-Management in Oman: A Qualitative Study

Patient-centered care enhances diabetes self-management; however, the primary care nurse&rsquo;s role in promoting diabetes self-management within a patient-centered care model is unexplored. This study investigated the perceptions of Omani patients with type-2 diabetes and their clinic nurses on the nurses&rsquo; role in promoting diabetes self-management within a patient-centered care approach. The thematic analysis of the data from individual interviews with patients (n = 24) revealed two themes: patients experienced &ldquo;missteps on an unclear path&rdquo; and &ldquo;nurses doing their best.&rdquo; Patients struggled to identify treatment goals and faltered in their attempts to adopt diabetes self-management behaviors. The nurses&rsquo; role was perceived as task-oriented. Nurse narratives (n = 21) revealed that very few nurses were aware of the patient-centered care philosophy. A theme emerged of nurses &ldquo;needing a new perspective&rdquo; to transition their care delivery to align with the patient-centered care model. Nurses expected patients to comply with their instructions and missed opportunities for assessment, engagement, and collaborative problem-solving during patient encounters. The shift from a physician-based medical model to a patient-centered primary care delivery system may necessitate that nurses engage more effectively with patients, collaborate on an individual treatment plan, and motivate them to adopt self-management behaviors