Objective: The objective of this study was to test the parental self-medication attitude and practice toward their children in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Non-probability convenient random sampling method was used to select the participants. A total of 750 parents from different cities in the Saudi Arabia were involved in the study. Results: The obtained response rate was 80%. The majority of participants were used to treat their children by western medicines. Most of respondents self-medicated their children in the month previous to the study period. The most common reported self-treated symptom was fever, although the most frequently used medicines were paracetamol and antibiotics. The attitude to treat fever was higher in males than in females (P = 0.021). The initial response for most participants in case of self treatment failure was to consult physicians in public hospitals; education level of participants showed significant difference (P = 0.041). The main reasons for self-medication were long waiting time in the clinics and high consultation fees. Occupation showed a significant differences (P = 0.008).

No abstract

No abstract

Objectives This work investigated the impacts of food habits and lifestyle on the prevalence of overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) among health sciences students (HSS) at Taif University, KSA. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 228 HSS in a university setting using a food frequency questionnaire. Body mass index (BMI) was used to assess weight gain, and waist circumference (W_C) was employed for the assessment of abdominal adiposity. Results The prevalences of OW and OB were 25.9% and 10.9%, respectively, with an overall prevalence of 36.8%. All demographic variables had an insignificant ( P > 0.05) effect on W_C. There were significant links between gender, academic year and discipline and BMI ( P < 0.05). Smoking, stress, duration of TV viewing, daylight and night sleep had an effect on BMI and W_C but were statistically insignificant ( P > 0.05). Breakfast, light meals, eating with a family, fast food, and regular and diet soft drinks had insignificant impacts on BMI ( P > 0.05). A considerable relationship was observed between consumption of liver and BMI ( P < 0.05), while meat, egg, milk, fruit and vegetable, and grain intake had no significant effect on BMI ( P > 0.05). All varieties of foods had no significant impact on W_C ( P > 0.05). Conclusions The prevalence of OW and OB was 36.8%. The participants' gender, academic year, discipline, and liver intake had a significant impact on BMI. All other tested variables showed a nonsignificant relationship with W_C.

The current study was aimed to assess Saudi school students' knowledge, attitude and practice about medicines. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used anonymously among 15-20 year-old adolescents attending tertiary schools in Taif City, KSA. A total of 1022 students completed the questionnaires. Only 15.4% of the respondents knew the medicines' uses. Most of the students 79.6% affirmed that they used to take medicines after consulting physicians, and 45.1% of the students thought that tablet size affects the medicine's efficacy. More than half of the students knew that high temperatures affect the efficacy of medicines, there was a significant difference between rural and urban areas (P = 0.005). Physicians (50.6%) and community pharmacists (15.7%), were the main students' reliable sources of information about medicines. The majority of the students 70.5% were interested in learning more about medicines. The younger students ⩽18 years wish to learn more than the older ones (P < 0.014). The study showed that Saudi school students aged 15-20 years old have poor knowledge, misconception and negative attitudes about medicines. Low level of knowledge may expose adolescents to health-related problems. Educational efforts are important to improve students' practice toward medicines.

No abstract

BackgroundThe Gaza Strip is a densely populated place with ~2 million inhabitants in an area of 365 km2. The aim of this study was to determine the smoking prevalence in the Gaza Strip and to identify the perception of the Palestinian population on smoking.MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories, during the period from June to September 2014. Convenient sampling method was adopted. A structured pretested questionnaire was used.ResultsA total of 600 adults aged 15 years or older completed the questionnaires with a response rate of 83.3%. The prevalence rate of smoking was 26.3%, with a significantly higher rate among males (31%) than females (6.9%) (P<0.001). The mean starting age was 17.4±3.9 years. The study revealed that influence of friends is the major reason for initiation of smoking and the most influential factor in convincing smokers to quit was the family. Smokers’ knowledge about smoking risks motivates them to try stop smoking (64.9%) or desire to stop smoking (65.2%).ConclusionThe study revealed that tobacco use is significantly prevalent in the Gaza Strip. The author recommends rapid antismoking campaigns with stress on the family role and massive intervention programs to encourage young people to change their behavior toward smoking.

The study outcomes had revealed a practical guidance to be considered for instituting preferred modes of instruction to upgrading students' capacities for better understanding and acquiring academic and professional skills.