King Faisal University Research Articles

Dental caries level among patients attending dental clinics complex at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia: A retrospective study

Introduction: Dental caries or tooth decay is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in adults and children worldwide, as it affects 60–90% of school-aged children and the vast majority of adults, and it is the primary cause of pain and tooth loss in the oral cavity. Aims: This retrospective study aimed to assess the level of dental caries among patients attended the King Faisal University dental clinics complex during the study period. Materials and Methods: This hospital-based study includes all patients who attended from September-December 2021. Secondary data included the level of dental caries experience, calculus level, plaque level using the oral hygiene index, and an assessment of dietary habits and oral health-related behaviors. We used frequencies for the categorical variables while mean (SD ±) for the quantitative variables, t-test with mean differences, and Pearson Correlation with 95% Confidence Intervals and 0.05 P-values as the significance level. Results and Discussion: 255 patients with a mean age of 28.21-year (SD ± 12.9), (42%) of them had generalized plaque, (25.9%) had generalized calculus, and (81.6%) had oral hygiene index scores ranging between 2 to 4. The prevalence of dental caries among the patients was (99.2%) with a DMFT mean of 9.51-teeth (SD ± 5.6). DMFT was significantly associated with the level of calculus as those with generalized calculus had a higher DMFT compared to localized, and was significantly associated with health education received (P-value 0.005, P = 0.028). Self-care evaluation and weekly dietary practices significantly correlated to dental caries’ level (Pearson Correlation - 0.28 and 0.14, P-values 0.00 and 0.03, respectively). Conclusion: This study reported a high level of dental caries experience, which is in accordance with the level in Saudi Arabia reported by other studies. The study also demonstrated the relation of the level of dental caries with the level of calculus as well as behavioral aspects such as self-care evaluation, weekly diet practices, and dietary habits factors.

Association between e-health literacy and vaccine hesitancy among non-health college students at King Faisal University

Association between e-health literacy and vaccine hesitancy among non-health college students at King Faisal University

Blood donation practices during COVID-19 pandemic among students of the College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University

Blood donation practices during COVID-19 pandemic among students of the College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to disaster preparedness among students of the College of Applied Medical Sciences at King Faisal University

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to disaster preparedness among students of the College of Applied Medical Sciences at King Faisal University

Association between the knowledge of oral health and the intention to visit the dentist among King Faisal University students

Association between the knowledge of oral health and the intention to visit the dentist among King Faisal University students

Energy conservation practices among undergraduate students of King Faisal University

Energy conservation practices among undergraduate students of King Faisal University

Association between risk for Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus prevention practices among King Faisal University faculty members and administrative staff

Association between risk for Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus prevention practices among King Faisal University faculty members and administrative staff

Assessment of Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, Practice and DMFT Scores among Patients at King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa.

Background and Objectives: Oral health is one of the most significant issues in public health. The Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) Index is a useful tool for assessing and measuring the state of oral health in a community. This study aimed to evaluate oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices among participants who visited a dental clinic at King Faisal University and to evaluate their DMFT scores. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted at the King Faisal University dental complex, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, using a simple random sampling technique. The data were collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire in English and Arabic. All statistical analyses were carried out using the SPSS 20 software. A chi square and ANOVA test were used to assess the association. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There were a total of 260 participants, of whom 193 (74.2%) were male and 67 (25.8%) were female. Most participants, 173 (66.5%), were between the ages of 18 and 28. The majority of the participants 191 (73.5%) believed that bad oral hygiene led to gum disease. Additionally, major issues while visiting dental clinics, the importance of routine dental clinic visits, the existence of a connection between oral and general health, brushing time and frequency of change of used brush were significantly influenced by gender (p < 0.05). In terms of the DMFT index, mean numbers of decaying teeth (D) were 4.82 ± 4.15, mean numbers of missing teeth (M) were 1.56 ± 2.94, mean numbers of filled teeth (F) were 5.17 ± 5.28 and mean DMFT score was 11.56 ± 6.32, with a statistically significant difference observed (p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study concluded that, although some of the study participants neglected oral hygiene practices, the majority of participants had good knowledge and attitudes regarding the significance of oral hygiene. Owing to inadequate practices, the decayed, missing, and filled teeth scores increased with increasing age. Additionally, gender had no significant impact on the mean scores for decayed, missing, and filled teeth, although there were significant differences between age groups.

Students' Attitudes towards Reading Saudi Printed and Electronic Saudi Newspapers

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the attitudes of Saudi students regarding reading printed and electronic newspapers as well as the reasons behind their decisions. Additionally, due to variations in the commitment of each type of newspaper is to this crucial aspect of professional practice, the credibility and professionalism issues in printed and electronic newspapers often lead to the spread of rumors and inaccurate information.&#x0D; Methods: The data for the study were collected using a questionnaire, which was sent to a sample of 360 undergraduate and graduate students at the Department of Media at King Faisal University, KSA.&#x0D; Results: There was no correlation between student's attitudes towards reading electronic newspapers and the future of print journalism. Furthermore, there was no correlation between student's attitudes towards reading electronic newspapers and news credibility. It was found that electronic newspapers have lower credibility than printed newspapers, primarily due to the absence of institutions relying on censorship through gatekeepers, as observed in press institutions.&#x0D; Conclusion: In comparison to printed newspapers, the study found that many electronic newspapers lack professionalism and disseminate misleading news.

Heuristic Approach for Net-Zero Energy Residential Buildings in Arid Region Using Dual Renewable Energy Sources

Optimizing a net-zero energy (NZE) residential building using what renewable energy resources are available in desert environments and budgeted within the limits of a governmental construction project is proving to be increasingly challenging for many countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Buildings in such regions encounter significantly high annual energy consumption rates, especially in the cooling capacity across a project’s life cycle, which in turn impacts the investment value. Therefore, this study presents a heuristic approach that aimed to examine the feasibility of NZE residential buildings in the KSA using an arid campus case study within the period of 2021–2022 based on the dual renewable energy sources of a geothermal heat pump (GHP), which served as a cooling system, and photovoltaic thermal collectors (PVT) serving as a power generation system. This study adopted a numerical technical assessment in the case study, using HAP software to analyze heating/cooling systems, and PVsyst V7.1.0 software for the variable simulation of solar photovoltaic power systems. This heuristic approach, through two assessment stages, achieved significant outcomes for a sustainable bottom-line, and provide a practical approach for achieving an NZE residential building in the King Faisal University (KFU) case study, as well as a reduction in energy consumption as well as the maintenance cost, which has a positive consequence on the payback period. Our study’s results have implications for both sustainable and green buildings with similar characteristics to those we investigated, and our results could be used to develop installation guidelines for renewable energy systems. Furthermore, our results can provide decision makers with a basis for retrofitting existing buildings to enhance their energy efficiency, increase investment value, as well as prevent the indiscriminate installation of renewable energy sources to merely increase the renewable energy installation rate.

The Role of Saudi Universities in Promoting Moderation among their Students

The study investigated the role of Saudi universities in promoting moderation among their students through development of cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. The study also explored the effect of the particular university attended on the study sample members’ opinion of the level of the role of Saudi universities in promoting moderation. (Universities in the study included Umm Al-Qura University, King Saud University, King Faisal University, King Khalid University, and Tabuk University.) The study used the descriptive approach in its survey method; the researcher prepared a questionnaire composed of 34 items distributed in three domains (cognitive, psychomotor, and affective). The instrument was applied to a sample of 397 male and female Saudi university students. The most significant result of the study was that the role of Saudi universities in promoting moderation among their students through the development of the affective domain also had a high rating level with the mean score of the total domain items of 4.12 and a standard deviation of 0.85. Further, the role of universities in promoting moderation among their students through the development of the cognitive domain had a high rating level with an arithmetic mean of the total domain items of 4.10 and a standard deviation of 0.88.&#x0D; &#x0D; Received: 12 December 2022 / Accepted: 20 February 2023 / Published: 6 March 2023

Challenges of the public-private sector partnership in higher education (KFU cases): SEModelling approach

This paper aims to assess the current and prospective applications of the university and private sector partnerships in higher education in Saudi Arabia. This paper highlights the difficulties and challenges facing Saudi universities to establish sustainable partnerships with the private sector as well as the public sector. It also explores many aspects of the partnerships in an approach to boost and enhance the role of universities within the community, with a special reference to a well-known Saudi university; i.e., King Faisal University. The study highlights how the implementation of community partnerships is affected by historical, cultural, and social obstacles and a misunderstanding of the importance of one party to the other. Data was collected through an online structured questionnaire. 100 academic leaders at King Faisal University participated in this survey. We use Structural Equation Modelling Approach to analyse the data. The results of this study found a statistically significant relationship between the current practices of community partnership and the challenges facing these practices. In addition, the study finds a statistically significant relationship between the mechanisms for developing community partnerships and the current practices of the partnership.

The Ethos of Rationing Water Consumption According To Prophetic Guidance, and the Role of Universities in Disseminating &amp; Reinforcing It: King Faisal University as a Model

Objectives: This research focused on Islamic values related to rationing consumption. It also explained the difference between positive and negative consumption and the Muslim’s role in adhering to Islamic values to prevent waste. Methods: The research was confined to water in which extravagance, pollution and misuse appeared by extrapolating Islamic values, etiquettes and rules on how to preserve it and some rulings about it in jurisprudence, culture and behavior. The subject is studied to know the role of Islamic culture in promoting this aspect through an inductive methodology for the texts of Sharia. Aspects of water security emerged from several axes by following the Sunnah of the Prophet and the role of universities in promoting this Islamic environmental culture. King Faisal University was selected as a model based on its new identity which is derived from two tracks of the nine identity tracks, namely the water and environment tracks. The study underscored the university’s role in raising awareness and focusing on specialized research that addresses some of the problems related to water rationing, especially in agricultural practices. Results: The research highlighted several results, including the value of water in the purified Sharia in judgment, use and consideration, and the texts showed an important result in water rationing, and the role of King Faisal University in focusing on this matter in both practice and research. Conclusions: Recommendations emerged regarding the modernization of systems, the intensification of research and the dissemination of the culture academically and through various agreements.

Constructivism learning theory: A paradigm for students’ critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving to affect academic performance in higher education

This study looks at whether creativity and critical thinking help students solve problems and improve their grades by mediating the link between 21st century skills (learning motivation, cooperativity, and interaction with peers, engagement with peers, and a smart classroom environment). The mediating relationship between creativity and critical thinking was discovered using structural equation modelling (SEM) research. The participants in the study were 297 postgraduate and undergraduate students from four faculties at King Faisal University who consented to take part. They were chosen using random sampling and volunteered to take part. Learning motivation, cooperativity, peer interaction, peer engagement, and a smart classroom environment all had a direct positive impact on students’ critical thinking and creativity; their critical thinking and creativity had a direct positive impact on their problem solving and academic performance; and their problem solving had a direct positive impact on their academic performance. The hypotheses developed a model for measuring students’ critical thinking and creativity, which affect problem-solving skills and thus students’ academic performance in Saudi Arabian higher education.

Born Not Made: The Impact of Six Entrepreneurial Personality Dimensions on Entrepreneurial Intention: Evidence from Healthcare Higher Education Students

Background: The KSA government has envisioned a national transformation plan via Vision 2030. The purpose of this plan is liberalization which provides an opportunity for the private sector to increase its share in the healthcare system. Evaluating the entrepreneurial potential of healthcare students is essential due to their future role in the healthcare environment. Thus, the goal of the current study is to measure entrepreneurial intentions and identify the characteristics and personality dimensions among junior healthcare students and fresh graduates in Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study design was utilized to survey healthcare students in their final years of study and fresh graduates at King Faisal University (KFU), Saudi Arabia. The research team identified six as the most common entrepreneurial intention traits. Entrepreneurial traits included internal locus of control, innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, autonomy, and problem-solving. A previously recognized and validated questionnaire was distributed through social media platforms and formal university emails. PLS-SEM was employed for the examination of both the measurement and structural models. Results: Internal locus of control was found to have a positive impact on entrepreneurial intention, so H1 was supported. Likewise, innovativeness showed a positive impact on entrepreneurial intention among healthcare students, which confirmed H2. The results also showed that autonomy substantially impacted entrepreneurial intention, so H3 was supported. Similarly, proactiveness has a direct influence on entrepreneurial intention; thus, H5 was supported. Furthermore, problem-solving personality dimensions also had a positive impact on entrepreneurial intention, so H5 and H6 were supported. Conversely, risk-taking propensity exhibited a negative insignificant effect on entrepreneurial intention. Thus, H4 was not supported. Conclusions: Saudi healthcare students revealed their intention towards entrepreneurship and were quite positive about becoming entrepreneurs. Furthermore, students’ entrepreneurial intention was affected by their quality of proactiveness, innovativeness, internal locus of control, problem-solving, and autonomy but not risk-taking propensity.

The Saudi student's attitudes towards the concept of gender (A study applied to graduate students at the Department of social studies at King Faisal University- Al-Ahsa– Saudi Arabia)

The Saudi student's attitudes towards the concept of gender (A study applied to graduate students at the Department of social studies at King Faisal University- Al-Ahsa– Saudi Arabia)

Awareness of interventional radiology among medical students at KFU in Al-Hasa province

Background: Interventional radiology (IR) is a branch of diagnostic radiology that performs minimally invasive procedure using image guided radiological techniques. Methods: To measure the awareness of IR between clinical-year medical students and medical interns at King Faisal University (KFU) in Al-Hasa province and the likelihood of medical students to enter IR in the future, a cross-sectional study was performed between year 4 and 5 medical students (clinical year students) and medical interns at KFU, Al-Hasa with the use of validated electronic questionnaire. Results: A total of 246 participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria of this study. The students were in clinical years: 54.9% were in their fourth year, 34.6% were in their fifth year, and 10.6% were interns. Approximately half of the responders (46.9%) think their knowledge regarding IR is poor. Lectures were the most frequently identified information source (33.3%). Around 48% of the participants had a satisfactory level of knowledge on interventional radiology. Conclusion: This study showed relatively poor awareness and knowledge toward IR among medical interns and clinical years medical students. To solve this issue, a number of strategies can be implemented, such as early inclusion of an interventional radiology course in the curriculum, IR symposiums, and IR awareness campaigns.

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD SELF-LEARNING AT THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, KING FAISAL UNIVERSITY

This study deals with self-learning. It is an appropriate educational process to prepare learners for lifelong learning and keep them updated with developments in their field of specialization and all aspects of their lives. It is also closely linked to the goals of sustainable professional development. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the attitudes toward self-learning among the students at the College of Education, King Faisal University. The study analyzed differences in the students' attitudes toward self-learning based on grade point average (GPA), specialization, and educational level. This study used a descriptive survey method to achieve its objectives. The study sample consisted of (336) female students during the second semester of the year 1442/1443 AH, with a rate of (42.59%) of the study population. They were selected using the simple random sampling technique. The arabized Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale was used in this study. This study verified the scale's validity and reliability. Data analysis used descriptive statistics. The results showed the degree of attitudes toward self-learning among female students to have a high value, with a mean of 4.03 and a standard deviation of 0.580. There were statistically significant differences at (p-value=0.05) between the students’ attitudes toward self-learning and their GPA in favor of students with high averages. Factors such as specialization and educational level did not result in statistically significant differences in student attitudes. This study highlights the necessity of increasing the activities and assignments that contribute to developing positive attitudes toward self-learning and its associated skills among female students. Additionally, it is necessary to train faculty members to promote the trend toward self-learning and its skills. Keywords: Attitude, Self-Learning, Self-Learning Scale, Higher Education DOI： https://doi.org/10.35741/issn.0258-2724.58.1.24

Tıbbi İntörnlerin COVID-19 Pandemisi Sırasındaki Algı ve Tutumları: Niteliksel bir Çalışma

Objective: This study was designed to explore the potential association between the severity of the impact of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on perceptions and attitudes among medical interns. Material and Methods: The study was carried out as qualitative key informant semi-structured interviews, and were enrolled from September-October 2020 using a convenience sampling was used to recruit nine medical interns at King Faisal University College of Medicine, Saudi Arabia. Data were analyzed qualitatively using framework analysis. Semi-structured interviews were performed in Microsoft Teams (online) for an average of 21 minutes, and the English language was utilized. A thematic analysis was done to identify the main concerns of the interns about education loss. Results: Nine participants (4 male medical interns and 5 female interns) were interviewed. The interview time averaged 18.4 minutes (range 17-21 minutes) and the mean age of the sample was 24 (standard deviation 0.707) years. Interns were more likely to be anxious, panic-ridden, horrified, depressed, stressful and disorganised due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on interns' organization of hospital rotation schedules. Furthermore, there is disagreement on the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on preparation for the Medical Licensing Exams. Conclusion: It should be ensured that the pandemic does not affect any more interns on medical rotations, by raising awareness through a bundle of educational courses.

Medical Students' Awareness, Knowledge, and Attitudes toward Basic Life Support at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia

Background: Life-threatening emergencies can strike anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. The consequences of cardiopulmonary arrest are devastating, and the mortality rate is very high. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is initiated during cardiac arrest and involves breathing and chest compressions to supply immediate blood to the brain. CPR success rates vary depending on the circumstances of cardiopulmonary arrest (in-hospital as opposed to out-of-hospital, witnessed versus unwitnessed, Etc.) and the knowledge and skills of the health care personnel. Aim: This study aimed to determine the knowledge of BLS and related skills among undergraduate students from King Faisal University's medical colleges. Materials and Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between May 11 and July 15, 2022, with King Faisal University Students, Medical Colleges. The sample size of this study was 479. A structured questionnaire was utilized to assess participants' levels of awareness, practical knowledge, and attitudes toward BLS. Results: The results revealed a low level of students’ awareness of BLS. Only 59 (12.8%) of the respondents showed good knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in newborns and adults. only 45 (9.8%) of the respondents had good knowledge about the choking of adults and infants. Only 15 (3.2%) of the participants had a "good" understanding of all BLS items. The study results also indicated that senior students were likelier than junior students to have good BLS knowledge, a statistically significant relationship. Attending BLS training classes and traditional sources of information were significant predictors of having good BLS knowledge. Conclusion: The study's findings revealed that medical and health college students had just a fair understanding of BLS. This finding indicates the essential need for ongoing refresher courses for this vital subject, particularly in the wake of pandemics like COVID-19.