Objective. Parental recognition of children’s developmental milestones has been correlated with more effective childcare strategies and overall better outcomes for children. However, the knowledge that parents have about children’s development remains uncertain which reflects serious concerns about children’s health in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify parents’ knowledge levels about children’s developmental milestones and the information sources they rely on for this knowledge. Study Design. We recruited 1471 parents aged ≥18 with at least one child under 14 and living in Riyadh to participate in an online survey between July of 2019 and January of 2020. Results. Most respondents showed a poor level of knowledge (80.0%) in all of four domains. However, mothers had more acceptable levels of knowledge (21.0%) than fathers (10.0%) ( p ≤ 0.01 ). There was a significant association between knowledge and age at first child’s birth; respondents who had their first child between 39 and 50 had the highest levels of knowledge (37.5%; p ≤ 0.01 ). In the four domains of development, parents were found to have the most knowledge about physical development (52.3%), followed by cognitive development (21.6%), social development (21.5%), and emotional development (21.2%). Only a few parents (5%) claimed to always rely on their healthcare professionals for information. Conclusion. There is a lack of appropriate knowledge about developmental milestones among parents, which reflects serious concerns about children’s health in Saudi Arabia. Healthcare institutions and pediatricians currently play a minimal role in health education. Effective health education programs and strategies should be implemented to improve child development outcomes in the community.

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Objective: Physicians are subject to chronic stressors, depression, and burnout due to long working hours, high requirements, and critical decision-making.[ 1 2 3 4 5 ] All those reasons contribute to the dissatisfaction of physicians. The dissatisfaction of physicians might lead to lower health-care quality.[ 6 ] Moreover, patient satisfaction is strongly affected by physician satisfaction.[ 7 8 ] This study aims to measure job satisfaction among family medicine (FM) physicians in Saudi Arabia. Study Design: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 265 FM physicians working in Saudi Arabia to participate in an online survey between October 2019 and January 2019. Results: Results showed that more than 50% of the respondents were very satisfied with their career choice (55.5%, n = 147). Non-Saudis who were satisfied or strongly satisfied were higher than those of Saudis ( P = 0.035) and 2.45 times more likely to be dissatisfied compared to non-Saudi respondents. Respondents from the southern region were 81% less likely to be dissatisfied than respondents from the central region (OR = 0.19, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Family medicine physicians showed a high level of satisfaction with their career choice regardless of gender, age, sector public or private, marital status. This is promising for family medicine as a medical specialty. The future of health care in Saudi Arabia is driven toward general practice and primary care centers, which aligns with the future vision of Saudi Arabia 2030.

Background Current guidelines recommend the introduction of allergenic foods as early as 4–6 months of age to decrease the risk of food allergy. However, caregivers’ knowledge about such practices and adherence to them is ambiguous. Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the timing of introduction of potentially allergenic foods into children’s diet and the level of maternal awareness about and degree of compliance with current recommendations. Materials and methods We conducted a cross-sectional study from May 2019 to January 2020 at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University Medical Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through questionnaire-based surveys, and a total of 405 mothers were enrolled in the study. The eligibility criteria included mothers of children between the ages of 12 and 36 months. Results Most mothers in this study had initiated allergenic foods, and the average time of introduction was 9.84 ± 3.16 months for eggs, 14.6 ± 5.78 months for peanuts, and 13.6 ± 5.37 months for fish. Around one-quarter (n = 102, 25.2%) of the children were identified as being in the high-risk group. Most mothers did not know or disagreed that the timing of introducing allergenic foods might help in preventing food allergy, but there was no difference between the risk groups (33.8% and 26.2%, respectively). Moreover, only 18.6% and 13.2% of the high- and low-risk groups, respectively, received correct information from their health care providers ( P = .004). Mothers with only one child were less likely to start eggs at an early age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.5 and P = .005). Furthermore, children at a high risk of food allergy were two times more likely to start eggs at an earlier age (OR = 2.12 and P = .003). Conclusion In this study, the allergenic food feeding practices being followed for infants and young children were found to be suboptimal. Parental education level and the number of siblings were identified as potential barriers to the implementation of and adherence to recent guidelines. There is a need for corrective measures to ensure safe and appropriate feeding practices in the Saudi community.

Background Intranasal corticosteroids (INCSs) are the first-line treatment for patients with moderate to severe conditions of allergic rhinitis (AR) as per current guidelines. However, patients' knowledge and practice towards the safety of such medications remains ambiguous. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify the awareness of and knowledge about the safety of nasal corticosteroid usage in patients with allergic rhinitis as well as their adherence to taking the medication.