Objectives. Determine the prevalence, awareness, and control rates of hypertension and their associated factors among Jordanian adults. Methods. A multistage sampling technique was used to select a nationally representative sample of adults from the population of Jordan. Trained interviewers collected data using a comprehensive structured questionnaire, measured anthropometric parameters, and collected blood samples. Results. This study included a total of 1193 men and 2863 women aged ranged from 18 to 90 year with a mean (SD) of 43.8 (14.2) year. The age-standardized prevalence was 33.8% among men and 29.4% among women. Of those with hypertnsion, 57.7% of men and 62.5% of women were aware of hypertension. Only 30.7% of men and 35.1% of women who were on antihypertensive medications had their blood pressure controlled. From 2009 to 2017, there was nonsignificant decrease in hypertension prevalence of 2.7% among men and 1.1% among women. However, the rate of hypertension awareness increased significantly among men and among women. Discussion. Almost one-third of Jordanian adults had hypertension. Interventions that target modifiable risk factors of hypertension, might decrease blood pressure, and even prevent the development of hypertension should be implemnted.

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Objective The study investigated the associations of religiosity, religious coping and suicide acceptance to suicide ideation and attempts in 7427 young adults affiliating with Islam from 11 Muslim countries. Method A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. We used F and χ2 tests and correlation analyses to report descriptive statistics. Multi-group path models with (i) a zero-inflated Poisson distribution and, (ii) a Binomial distribution were used to model the number of occurrences of suicidal ideation, and occurrence of a suicide attempt, respectively. Results Religiosity was negatively associated with acceptability of suicide, but it was positively related to punishment after death across the 11 countries. Religiosity was negatively associated with ever experiencing suicidal ideation, both directly and indirectly through its association with attitudes towards suicide, especially the belief in acceptability of suicide. Neither positive nor negative religious coping were related to suicidal ideation. However, religiosity was negatively related to suicide attempts among those who experienced suicidal ideation at least once. This association was mediated through the belief in acceptability of suicide and religious coping. Negative religious coping was positively associated with suicide attempts probably because it weakened the protective effects of religiosity. Conclusions Findings from this study suggest that the effects of religiosity in the suicidal process operate through attitudes towards suicide. We therefore conclude that clinical assessment as well as research in suicidology may benefit from paying due attention to attitudes towards suicide.

Objectives This study aimed to determine the overall incidence, trend, and epidemiology of cancer among Jordanians from 2000 to 2013 using data extracted from Jordan's Cancer Registry (JCR). Methods All cancer cases among Jordanians registered between 2000 and 2013 were analyzed using CanReg software and SPSS. The overall crude incidence rates (CIRs) and the age standardized rates (ASRs) of cancer per 100,000 were calculated. Results A total of 58788 cancer cases were registered during the period 2000-2013. Of those, 28545 (48.6%) were males and 30243 (51.4%) were females. About three-quarters (77.3%) of the registered patients were ≥ 40 years in age. Overall, the average crude cancer incidence rate was 82.8/100,000 population during the 14-year study period. On the other hand, the ASR was 126/100,000 during the same period (124.2 /100,000 for males and 128.4 /100,000 for females). The cumulative top cancers among males were colorectal, lung, lymphoma, urinary bladder, and prostate, respectively, while those among females were breast, colorectal, lymphoma, thyroid, and uterine. The number of cancer cases has increased from 3370 in 2000 to 5409 in 2013 (60.5% increase over the 14 years). The percentage of increase was 68.4% in females and 52.5% in males. The ASR has also increased from 113.6 per 100,000 in 2000 to 142.1 per 100.000 in 2013 with a 25.1% of increase during the 14 years. Conclusion Over the 14-year study period, incidence of cancer in Jordan has increased. However, it remains lower than that in other Eastern Mediterranean and Western countries. We recommend initiating screening programs for the most common types of cancer in Jordan that have valid screening tests to detect cancer during its early stages and reduce overall morbidity and mortality.

This study aimed to assess the behaviors of multiple health professionals in primary healthcare settings in Jordan towards smoking cessation counseling and to determine the barriers to effective smoking cessation behaviors. A survey of 456 health professionals in primary healthcare settings was conducted. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect the data. About half of health professionals reported that they usually ask patients about smoking status and advise them to stop smoking (51.4% and 50.5%, respectively). Only 23.7% reported assessing the willingness of the patients to quit smoking and 17.9% reported discussing counseling options with smokers. Considerably fewer percentages of health professionals reported preparing their patients for withdrawal symptoms (6.0%), discussing pharmacotherapies (3.8%), and prescribing nicotine patches (6.4%). Key barriers to smoking cessation counseling, as reported by health professionals, included: insufficient resources and organizational support, limited coverage of cessation interventions, and lack of motivation to quit. Smoking cessation counseling was not routinely implemented by Jordanian health professionals. Barriers to effective delivery of smoking cessation counseling need to be integrated within relevant strategies aiming at enhancing the frequency and quality of health professionals' engagement in smoking cessation.

This study highlighted stillbirth risks in Jordan, which could encourage maternal-infant health-care providers, other researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to implement solutions and to develop a feasible intervention.

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AimWith continuing advancements in both antenatal and neonatal care, perinatal palliative continues to pose significant challenge. A number of professional bodies have published best practice guidance on the delivery of palliative care in the postnatal period, including BAPM (2010) and Managed Clinical Networks. An important consideration which is highlighted in all guidance is the use of end of life care plans. These are plans which combine clinical care plans with parental wishes and multidisciplinary team assessment. The aim of this audit was to assess the frequency of use of end-of-life care plans across central Scotland.MethodsA retrospective case note review of all neonatal deaths occurring after 23 weeks gestation in two large tertiary neonatal units in Scotland. A record of neonatal deaths within each unit was obtained from the electronic patient record ‘Badger’ database, between January 2014 and December 2014. A review of both the units admission databases and death certification logs were also undertaken to ensure that all deaths were captured. Full notes were requested from medical records and reviewed by the authors. All neonatal deaths following planned reorientation of care were included, acute deaths in the delivery room or neonatal unit were excluded due to their often sudden and unpredictable nature. The authors reviewed full case notes for completed or partially completed end-of-life care planning.ResultsA total of 47 deaths occurred over 2014 between both units. 60% of deaths followed planned reorientation of care. Parents were often involved in discussions regarding plans to reorientate care and parental wishes, both before and after death, were documented in 68% of case notes. The most common plans documented related to planned extubation (94%), however planning regarding analgesia (23%), feeding (4%) and bereavement care (28%) was limited.ConclusionsAt present, a large proportion of infants approaching end of life do not have a clear care plan documented. This study has identified that there remains a need for clear and concise documentation of clinical and parental wishes following reorientation of care.