Prevalent Source Of Information Research Articles

Informational support and information-seeking during transition to parenthood: Baby Buddy Forward's focus groups with pregnant women and new mothers in Cyprus.

Relevant and accurate information during the transition to parenthood is vital for active participation in decision-making. The aim of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of informational support and information-seeking practices among women in Cyprus during the transition to parenthood with a focus on the use of the internet and informed decision making. Qualitative descriptive exploratory design of 12 focus groups with 64 participants representing different language-cultural groups served by the Baby Buddy Cyprus app. A topic guide covering expectations, experiences and practices guided the discussions. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Seven themes and several subthemes emerged. In an 'unsupportive system', 'void' of informational support, pregnant women strive to have a 'confident voice'. They find themselves 'self-navigating in parallel worlds' of formal and informal information, where the internet holds a prominent place. 'Supplementing and filtering', instinctively and selectively, results in a state of 'doubt and faith' towards the trustworthiness of the information but also healthcare providers. Effective communication with providers is needed to break the cycle, but seems dependent on the self-efficacy of the women themselves ('art of communication'). Women 'deconstruct and reimagine' their experiences, often assigning responsibility on themselves for not having been better prepared. Women want control over decisions affecting their pregnancy. While the internet is a prevalent source of information, they value communication with healthcare providers and want direction. A shift is needed from current practices of unguided information-searching. Maternity healthcare professionals need to recognize this phenomenon, offer appropriate guidance, and support active participation in informed decision-making.

Infection prevention and control practices among primary healthcare nurses regarding COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundHealthcare providers, particularly nurses, are at risk of infection as part of the COVID-19 pandemic since they assist in the disease's containment. By recognising the risk factors for infection and implementing suitable measures to reduce these risks, all reasonable efforts should be taken to control the spread of infection to them. The aim of the present study was to determine the level of infection prevention and control practises used by primary healthcare nurses in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methodsCross-sectional design to examine the preventive practices of COVID-19 among healthcare professionals and community health nurses (n = 198) who worked in primary healthcare facilities in southwest Riyadh. Staff were randomly recruited, and a self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect demographic data, sources of COVID-19 information, and COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures. ResultsMost of participants were male (57.6%), aged 30_39 years (50.5%), married (61.6), with monthly income of more than10,000 SAR, and more than half (74.0%) of the participants hold a diploma degree. Social media was the most prevalent source of information about COVID-19 (69.25%). About 91.4% used facemask in crowds and 65.2% of the participants wore medical Personal Protective Equipment during prescribing drugs. Furthermore, 94.5% of the participants wore a simple facemask and 32.8% washed their hands with running water and handwashing liquid. Females were most users of gloves and simple mask; who had a monthly income of 5000 SAR or more were the most who wore goggle mask and apron; non-nurse staff, aged 40_49 years and who had more than 10 years of experience were the most users of N95 respirator; while nurses, aged 30_39 years and with 6_10 years of experience were the most who used gowns. Participants' age, income, and work experience were all found to be important factors linked with COVID-19 infection prevention and control practices. ConclusionOverall practicing preventive measures by Healthcare professionals in Saudi primary healthcare centres to encounter COVID-19 pandemic were generally significant. Policymakers at the Ministry of Health should monitor preventive practises regarding COVID-19 infection among all healthcare providers in other facilities. It is recommended to conduct systematic reviews and amend current guidelines for preventive practices in the COVID-19 pandemic to promote maximum state among population.

Knowledge and awareness of cataract: a population-based survey in Saudi Arabia

Background: Cataract is the most common cause of blindness worldwide. It develops slowly and leads to blindness if left untreated. However, early detection and treatment of cataracts are largely dependent on the public’s awareness of the disease. This study aims to identify the awareness of the population in Saudi Arabia toward cataract. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional quantitative survey study carried out online in Saudi Arabia, including public members. The study used the Arabic version of a self-administered, internet-based questionnaire. It included questions about responders’ demographic characteristics and questions to evaluate their knowledge about the disease. Data analysis was executed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26. Results: Among the 494 participants who responded to this survey, 81.2% were female. 5.3% had cataracts, and 18.4% had a positive family history of cataracts. As for the knowledge about cataracts, none of the participants had sufficient knowledge regarding the risk factors, whereas most of them (71.5%) had sufficient experience regarding treatment. Overall, adequate knowledge about cataract was observed among 52.6% of the participants. The most prevalent source of information was the internet (15.6%), followed by more than one source (11.9%) and academic courses (11.5%). Results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that participants who did not know if they have a cataract or not were more likely to have insufficient knowledge about the disease (adjusted odds ratio = 5.18, 95% class interval: 2.41-11.09, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Although the Saudi population’s knowledge and awareness about cataracts are acceptable, further improvement is required.

Prevalence of Supplement Consumption in Iranian Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background:Due to widespread use of supplement among athletes, determining the prevalence and pattern of dietary supplement consumption and its moderators will be a road map for developing a strategic planning in the national level to achieve healthy lifestyle and avoid harmful nutritional approaches.Methods:A systematic search of the electronic resources including Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and National Persian Databases including Magiran, SID, IranDoc and CIVILICA (between 1979 and November 2019 in Persian and English language) was accomplished. Inclusion criteria were (a) studies containing the prevalence rate of dietary supplement consumption, specifically (b) studies were conducted in athletes. Finally, 32 articles were included.Results:The prevalence rate of supplement use in overall Iranian athletic population was 64.8% (95% CI, 55.8%-73.8%) with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 99.7%, P < 0.001). The prevalence rate was reported to be higher in male athletes, athletes aged 25 and older and elite athletes (P < 0.05). The most prevalent source of information about supplement use among athletes were trainers, followed by physicians, friends-teammates and dietitians.Conclusions:According to the high prevalence of supplement consumption among Iranian athletes, policy making for educational programs is mandated. Trainers are the most popular source to provide information about supplements and educational programs should be conducted for this target population.

Heat Waves Occurrence and Outdoor Workers' Self-assessment of Heat Stress in Slovenia and Greece.

Changing patterns of heat waves are part of the global warming effect and the importance of changes is reinforced by their negative impact on society. Firstly, heat waves were analyzed in Brnik (Slovenia) and Larisa (Greece) in the period 1981–2017 to reflect the environment which workers are exposed to. Secondly, outdoor workers (70 from Greece, 216 from Slovenia) provided a self-assessment of heat stress. The heat wave timeline is presented as an effective way of illustrating long-term changes in heat waves’ characteristics for various stakeholders. In both countries, workers assessed as significant the heat stress impact on productivity (Greece 69%, Slovenia 71%; p > 0.05), and in Slovenia also on well-being (74%; p < 0.01). The main experienced symptoms and diseases were thirst (Greece 70%, Slovenia 82%; p = 0.03), excessive sweating (67%, 85%; p = 0.01), exhaustion (51%, 62%; p > 0.05) and headache (44%, 53%; p > 0.05). The most common way to reduce heat stress was drinking more water (Greece 64%, Slovenia 82%; p = 0.001). Among the informed workers, the prevalent source of information was discussions. Therefore, educational campaigns are recommended, together with the testing of the efficiency of mitigation measures that will be proposed on the Heat-Shield project portal.

Perceived changes and concerns of women related to sexuality in pregnancy in the context of the importance of being informed

Pregnancy is an important life period, often associated with perceived changes and concerns in the sphere of sexuality. This study evaluates these changes and concerns, as well as the awareness of women concerning their sexuality during the period of pregnancy. The research is designed as a quantitative cross-sectional study. The research sample consisted of 242 pregnant women with a mean age of 28.07 years (±5.13 years). The received data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a chi-squared test and the Pearson correlation coefficient. The majority of the respondents (66.5%) declared that they had experienced shifts in their sexual and intimate life during the period of pregnancy. Fear and fatigue were found to be the most common causes of decreased sexual activity. Overall, 47.5% of pregnant women were worried about sexual intercourse in pregnancy. Most often they were afraid of preterm labour/miscarriage and causing harm to the foetus. Statistically significant correlations (r = 0.13; p = 0.052) between concerns and the period of pregnancy by trimesters were demonstrated. Despite the fact that most women declared they had had sufficient information about sexuality in pregnancy, we cannot rely on this, as their prevalent source of information was the internet and, moreover, the majority of women had not discussed the issue with health professionals (gynaecologists, midwives). A statistical significance (r = 0.23, p = 0.0001) between the level of awareness and the stage pregnancy by trimesters was demonstrated. With regard to the outcomes of the study, healthcare professionals should pay increased attention to sexuality of pregnant women. It is also desirable to enrich the sources of information on sexuality in pregnancy and, simultaneously, to enhance emotional support of health professionals for pregnant women. Understanding the changes and reducing fears of sexual activity in pregnancy would definitely contribute to the reduction of sexual dysfunction and overall improvement of the women’s quality of life during pregnancy.

Awareness and practice towards dengue fever in Kannamangala village, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Background: Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection of humans. The agent causing dengue is a single-stranded RNA virus of Flaviviridae family. In recent years dengue hemorrhagic fever has become a global public health problem. Urbanization and poor management of garbage in the city limits has resulted in increase in the breeding site for Aedes aegypti which is a vector for dengue fever. The aim and objective was to assess the knowledge, awareness and practices towards dengue fever in Kannamangala village. Methods: This community based cross sectional study was conducted in Kannamangala village from July 2014-December 2014. Totally 738 participants were enrolled in the study. The aim was to assess the knowledge and awareness, preventive measures and most prevalent source of information regarding dengue by using semi-structural questionnaire. Results: Knowledge and practice regarding dengue fever is not satisfactory, 60% of the respondents said dengue is a serious illness and 68.8% said it is transmitted through mosquito bite and only 8% knew the name of the vector. Only 15.3% of the participants changed water in artificial container every week, 49.2% of the respondents got the information from Radio/TV followed by Newspaper/magazine. Only 15.4% of the respondents received information by Health personnel. Conclusions: Lack of awareness and improper practice towards dengue is explicit in this study. Emphasis should be more on creating awareness among people. Educational intervention has to be more effective in controlling dengue fever.

Smoking and Its Related Factors Among Iranian High School Students

Background:In different studies, the prevalence of tobacco consumption has been growing in high schools boys.Objectives:This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of smoking and its related factors among Iranian high school students in 2011.Materials and Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 450 male students from 15 high schools of Shahroud (northeast of Iran) were selected for evaluation of the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of students regarding tobacco consumption. Results:Overall, 51% (95% CI: 46.5 - 55.7) of the students had positive history of smoking for at least one time and 7.1% (95% CI: 5 - 10) of them were current smokers. The most prevalent source of information about smoking was TV and radio programs (48%) and friends were the second source (22%). Based on the students’ opinions, entertainment and smoker friends were the most important reasons for smoking tendency. There was significant statistical association between students smoking and positive family history of smoking (P value < 0.05).Conclusions:The prevalence of smoking experince was very high among high school students. The most prevalent source of information about smoking was Iranian broadcasting companies. Positive family history of smoking and smoker friends were the important motivating factors toward smoking.

Obtaining information about cancer: prevalence and preferences among Japanese adults.

BackgroundProviding information about cancer prevention might increase awareness of prevention and promote preventive behaviours. A better understanding about the prevalence and preferences of obtaining information about cancer might help to identify targeted individuals and design effective strategies for promoting cancer-preventive behaviours. Thus, the present study examined the prevalence and correlates of obtaining information about cancer among Japanese adults, and described preferences including source and content.MethodsData were analysed for 3,058 Japanese adults (mean age 45.0 ± 13.4 years) who responded to an Internet-based cross-sectional survey. The data included whether information about cancer had been obtained, sources, preference for content, sociodemographic variables, health status, and cancer histories. Force-entry logistic regression analysis was used.ResultsOverall, 46.7% of respondents had obtained information about cancer. Gender, age, and education level were statistically significant correlates of doing so. Women were more likely to obtain information (OR = 1.97) as were older age groups (40–49: OR = 1.54, 50–59: OR = 2.27, 60–69: OR = 3.83), those with higher education (2 years college or equivalent degree: OR = 1.31, college graduate or higher: OR = 1.48) and those with having cancer histories (personal: OR = 3.52, family: OR = 1.57, friends/co-worker: OR = 2.09). The most prevalent source of information about cancer was mass media. Content of prevention is most needed among inconsistent contents with the frequently obtained contents.ConclusionsLess than half of the respondents information about cancer. The finding suggests that better health communication strategies would be necessary to inform Japanese people about cancer. Understanding which subgroups were less likely to obtain information and preferences of information might be effective in promoting cancer prevention.

Knowledge, Awareness and Practices Regarding Dengue among Rural and Slum Communities in North Indian city, India

Background: Dengue fevers (DF), transmitted by Aedes aegypti, is an arboviral disease endemic in the Asian subcontinent. It has emerged as a notable public health problem in recent decades. Rapid urbanization, environmental changes and neglected (rural and slums) areas results in vector breeding causes rise in dengue outbreaks. Aims & Objective: To study the knowledge, awareness and practices regarding dengue among rural and slum communities in Chandigarh City. Materials and Methods: This community based cross sectional study was conducted in Chandigarh city, India during June-July 2011 among 800 respondents.The sample area was the two rural (villages) and two slums of the city. Each 200 respondents from each village and slum area. The aim was to assess the knowledge and awareness, preventive measures and most prevalent source of information regarding dengue. Simple random sampling method was used for interview by using structural questionnaire. Results: Results showed that knowledge and awareness about dengue fever was generally inadequate. It was more in rural (48.5%) as compared to slum (30%). Only 72.62% of the respondents answered that mosquito was responsible for the transmission of dengue. They had insufficient knowledge that dengue mosquito bites at day time and breeds in clean water. 70.87% don’t know the dengue symptoms. Most prevalent preventive method was coils, liquid vaporizers. Health professional and television /radio were the important source of information for dengue. Conclusion: There is a need to make villages and slum people aware of different preventive practices and reduce this knowledge application gap. Thus, understanding people perception and their practices could help in identifying the targets areas to control outbreaks.

Knowledge and attitude towards child adoption among women in Zaria, northern Nigeria

Background:The success of marriages has largely been premeditated on child bearing in most African society and oftentimes women are at the receiving end of childlessness with possible psychological and physical torture.Objective:To assess the knowledge and attitude of women of reproductive age towards child adoption in Zaria, Northern Nigeria.Methodology:A cross-sectional descriptive study, structured closed and open ended questionnaires was administered to 200 consenting consecutive women aged 15–49years to obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics, reproductive profile, knowledge and attitude towards child adoption. Data was analysed using SPSS V17 with p value set at 0.05.Results:The majority 89.4% of respondents have heard and are aware of child adoption and 77% agreed it is a good practice. The most prevalent source of information is the Mass media in 35.0% of respondents. The female gender is preferred by majority 64.2% of respondent if they will adopt. There is a strong association between numbers of living children and willingness to consider child adoption with P value < 0.05.Conclusion:There is a high level of knowledge and acceptability of child adoption practices in our environment. Child adoption institutions should therefore be supported to meet the need of the infertile couples.