Background: To date, there has been a dearth of research on health literacy in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and in particular Lebanon. Objectives: This cross-sectional study assessed the levels and correlates of health literacy in Lebanese adults. Methods: A total of 587 participants (54.5% women) were recruited from the outpatient clinics of five health facilities in Beirut. The questionnaire consisted of the Arabic version of the Functional Health literacy Scale, the Arabic short version of the European Health Literacy Survey, and questions on sociodemographic and health-related factors. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed to assess the association of these factors with functional health literacy (FHL) and comprehensive health literacy (CHL) levels. Key Results: About 65.8% had inadequate or problematic FHL and 43.8% had inadequate or problematic CHL. Although FHL was negatively correlated with long-term illness, it was positively correlated with ability to pay and health status. CHL was positively correlated with education, income, ability to pay for treatment, health status, and FHL level, whereas it was negatively correlated with long-term illness. Binary logistic regression showed that low education, low socioeconomic status, and being a widow were predictive of inadequate FHL. Moreover, having inadequate FHL and low income increased the likelihood of having inadequate CHL. Conclusion: This study has identified those with risk factors for inadequate health literacy and unfavorable health outcomes. A national action plan can guide the promotion of health literacy and its embeddedness in society to instill competencies and the environment that would eliminate health inequities and sustain health in Lebanon. [ HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice . 2021;5(4):e295–e309.] Plain Language Summary: This study examined health literacy levels and correlates in 587 Lebanese adults using two recognized screening tools. The first tool measured functional health literacy (FHL), which represents the ability of a person to acquire information on health through reading or writing. The second tool assessed comprehensive health literacy (CHL), which encompasses the ability of a person to use their social skills to acquire health information from different media and make appropriate health decisions based on this information. Close to two-thirds of the participants had inadequate or problematic FHL. More specifically, low education, low socioeconomic status, and widowhood were predictive of inadequate FHL. Nearly one-half of the participants had inadequate or problematic CHL with an increased likelihood of inadequate levels in people with low FHL and low income.
Background: The primary aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of pregnant women who fast during Ramadan. The secondary outcome was their beliefs and motivations regarding fasting during Ramadan in addition to the consequences of fasting on maternal and neonatal outcome.Methods: A retrospective review of pregnant patients aged between 18-45 years who presented for antenatal care in the private clinic in Beirut, Lebanon during or after the month of Ramadan between 2010 and 2019 was performed.Results: A total of 502 pregnant patients were included in the study, of which 426 (84.9%) fasted during Ramadan and 76 (15.1%) did not fast at all. Of those who fasted, 148 (34.7%) fasted between 1 and 15 days while 278 (65.3%) fasted more than 15 days. Multiparous and non-Lebanese women had significantly higher rate of fasting compared to primiparous and Lebanese women. Adherence to fasting was associated with the spiritual environment that accompanies the month of Ramadan while non-adherence was mainly related to the fear from adverse effects on the mother and fetus. Fasting was not significantly associated with maternal complications or decreased neonatal birth weight.Conclusions: The present study showed that Ramadan fasting is important to pregnant Muslim women. This was manifested by the relatively high rate of fasting even in summer and spring seasons. Understanding the beliefs and motivations of pregnant women would provide valuable insight to physicians to appropriately advise these women without compromising the maternal or fetal well-being.
Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the clinical and ultrasonographic features of females who presented with abdominal discomfort and had ovarian torsion against those who did not. Methods: This was a cohort study that looked back included all female patients who presented to a referral private clinic with pelvic and/or abdominal pain between January 2017 and December 2020. Patients who were clinically diagnosed with torsion but had negative intra-operative findings were excluded. Patients who met the criteria were separated into two groups (ovarian torsion vs. no torsion).Symptoms including the type, location and duration of pain, presence of nausea and vomiting, abdominal tenderness, presence of adnexal masses at digital examination, ultrasound findings, pre-operative diagnosis, final diagnosis, as well as surgical management were recorded. Results: During the research period, a total of 65 female patients came with abdominal discomfort, with 17 (26.2%) having ovarian torsion and 48 (73.8%) not having torsion. 1 (5.9%) of the 17 patients with torsion were in their teenage years, 14 (87.4%) were in their reproductive years, and 2 (11.8%) were 51 years or older. All patients who had torsion presented with nausea and vomiting while none of the patients who did not have torsion had nausea and vomiting (p-value<0.0001). As for pain, 38 (79.2%) had moderate pain in the no torsion group compared to none in those who had torsion since all patients who had torsion had severe pain compared to 10 (20.8%) of those who did not have torsion (p-value<0.0001). Eight patients were pregnant, 5 without torsion and 3 with torsion. The length of discomfort in the torsion group was substantially longer than in the non-torsion group (52.6555.02 days vs. 16.3115.85, p-value0.0001, respectively). Three patients were menopausal, 1 with no torsion and 2 had torsion. Around 58% of the patients without torsion had negative Doppler findings for simple cyst compared to 23.5% of those with torsion. All patients who had torsion underwent surgery and all patients without torsion had regression of pelvic mass. For those who had torsion, 35.3% had their ovary removed, 58.8% had the cyst removed while ovary conserved, and 5.9% had drainage for the cyst. Conclusion: Using a combination of presenting symptoms and ultrasonography, ovarian masses may be identified and ovarian torsion suspected. Torsion must be detected early in order to get conservative therapy and maintain the reproductive capacity of younger girls.
The intrauterine device (IUD) is a contraceptive method which are tiny, T-shaped plastic, that is placed within the uterus and left there, is used all throughout the world with more than 99% effectiveness rate. Pregnancy with a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) in situ is very rare. Intracavitary pregnancy with an IUD can lead to a higher risk of infection and preterm birth. We described a case of a live birth with an IUD inserted into the placenta. A 27-year-old Syrian woman in G4P3 with a history of healthy vaginal deliveries arrived in our delivery room at 39+3 weeks gestation complaining of labor pain A vaginal examination revealed bulging membranes and a fully dilated cervix. She delivered a live baby boy, weighing 3100 g and being sent to the nursery with an APGAR score of 9 to 10. When the placenta was examined, a white foreign object that was embedded there was discovered to be an intrauterine device. Although intrauterine pregnancy is a potential problem that must be taken into account, ectopic pregnancy is a reasonably common complication of intrauterine contraceptive devices. Although several studies have shown that term pregnancies with excellent prognoses can occur after the removal of intrauterine devices, close monitoring is necessary to detect misplaced copper-T and prevent undesired births.
Objectives To describe the effect of economic collapse on prenatal care. Methods This is an observational study aiming to depict the changes that occur in prenatal care in the case of an economic collapse. Biochemical screening and ultrasound examinations, as well as medical emigration and private-public sector activity, are discussed. Results Starting October 2019, Lebanon experienced significant and unprecedented economic degradation leading to 81% degradation of the local currency, 85% inflation, and socio-economic suffering, and the situation is currently still deteriorating. The impact on the medical infrastructure has been global and hit all areas. The crisis is multifaceted, varied in the way it played out across public and private sectors, and did not affect them equally. Some were better prepared than others to cope with severe fiscal pressure mainly through the support of non-governmental organizations. All aspects of prenatal care are affected by the crisis. Conclusions Given the multiple strains on the Lebanese health care system today, the plight of antenatal care providers needs assistance to ensure adequate follow-up of pregnancies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.