Background Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) epidemic is a public health emergency of international concern. Dentists are exposed to the enormous risk of COVID-19 infection during this epidemic. This study aims to assess the knowledge and practice of dentists toward the COVID-19 epidemic in Lebanon. Methods We conducted an online survey using the snowball-sampling technique. Information on socio-demographic data, knowledge, practice, and additional information required concerning COVID-19 were collected. Results Our results showed that the majority of the Lebanese dentists had good knowledge (91.3%), and nearly half of the respondents had a good practice (58.7%) regarding COVID-19. The most common information source was the World Health Organization (73.7%). Multiple linear regression showed that specialist dentists who completed training on COVID-19 with a high level of knowledge had better practice. Conclusions Lebanese dentists revealed good knowledge regarding COVID-19. However, dentists had limited comprehension of the extra precautionary measures that protect the dental staff and patients from this virus. Our findings have important implications for the development of strategies suitable for improving the level of practice among dentists and enhance prevention programs.

Background: Since Health care workers (HCWs) are at high occupational risk for COVID-19, they are prioritized for immunization. This study aims to assess the acceptance rate of COVID-19 vaccine among HCWs and to identify its determinants.Methodology: A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted over the period extending from 10 to 31 December 2020 among Lebanese HCWs. The Health Belief Model (HBM) was used as theoretical framework. Descriptive statistics were reported using frequency with percentages for categorical variables. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression were carried out to identify the factors associated with the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine. Adjusted odds ratio and their 95% confidence intervals were reported. The level of statistical significance was set at a p-value < 0.05. Results: A total of 1800 HCWs have completed the survey. Around half of them were frontliners aged between (30-49) years old. About two third (67.33%) have received their influenza vaccine this year. The acceptance rate of COVID-19 vaccine among surveyed HCWs was 58%. Being a male (aOR=1.988, 95% CI (1.411-2.801)), working in the frontline (aOR=1.610, 95% CI (1.173-2.209), and having received influenza vaccination this year (aOR=1.378, 95% CI(0.990-1.916))were significantly associated with higher COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. However, living in rural area (aOR=0.606, 95%CI (0.440-0.836)), personal history of COVID-19 (aOR=0.695, 95%CI (0.470-1.029), novelty of vaccine (aOR=0.424, 95% CI (0.255-0.706)), side effects (aOR=0.413, 95%CI (0.234-0.731), reliability of manufacturer (aOR=0.434, 95% CI (0.297-0.633) and vaccine frequency (aOR=0.580, 95% CI (0.403-0.836) were negatively associated with the willingness to take it. Remarkably, limited availability (aOR=2.161, 95% CI(1.461-3.197) and accessibility (aOR=1.680, 95% CI (1.141-2.474) to the vaccine were also positively associated to its uptake. Similarly, HCWs who perceived vaccine benefits were more likely to get vaccinated (aOR=11.048, 95% CI (7.993-15.269)). With regards to cues of action, having reliable and adequate information regarding the vaccine (aOR=1.979, 95% CI (1.361-2.878)), recommendation by health authorities (aOR=1.976, 95% CI(1.343-2.908)) or health facilities (aOR=2.684, 95% CI(1.804-3.994)) were positively linked to vaccine acceptance, whilst recommendation by family members (aOR=0.479, 95% CI(0.283-0.811)) was negatively related to it. Conclusion:Pointing out the factors driving moderate vaccine acceptance among HCWs via targeting messages addressing key concerns would be required to reach higher vaccination rate.

Background Health-care workers (HCWs) are at a higher occupational risk of contracting and transmitting influenza. Annual vaccination is an essential tool to prevent seasonal influenza infection. However, HCWs vaccine hesitancy remains a leading global health threat. This study aims to evaluate the flu vaccination coverage rates among Lebanese HCWs and to assess their knowledge, attitudes, practices, perceived barriers, and benefits toward the flu vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we sought to identify the factors associated with flu vaccine uptake. Methods A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted in Lebanon among HCWs between 14 and 28 October 2020. Multivariable logistic regression was carried out to identify the factors associated with influenza vaccine uptake. Results A total of 560 HCWs participated in the survey of whom 72.9% were females, and 53.9% were aged between 30-49 years. Regarding Flu vaccination uptake, the rate has risen from 32.1% in 2019-2020 to 80.2% in 2020-2021 flu season. The majority of HCWs had a good knowledge level and a positive attitude toward flu vaccination. Regarding their practices, less than 50% of HCW were currently promoting the importance of getting the flu vaccine. The majority (83.3%) ranked the availability of a sufficient quantity of vaccines as the most significant barrier to flu vaccination. The main perceived flu vaccination benefits were enhancing patient safety, minimizing the viral reservoir in the population, decreasing hospital admission, and avoiding influenza and COVID-19 co-infection. The odds of influenza vaccine uptake was lower in unmarried compared to married HCWs (OR = 0.527, CI (0.284-0.978). However, HCWs having received the influenza vaccine in the previous season (OR = 6.812, CI (3.045-15.239)), those with good knowledge level (OR = 3.305, CI (1.155-9.457)), low perceived barriers (OR = 4.130, CI (1.827-9.334)) and high perceived level of the benefits (OR = 6.264, CI (2.919-13.442)) of the flu vaccination were found more prone to get the flu vaccine. Conclusion Flu vaccination uptake has increased among HCWs during the 2020-2021 flu season compared with the previous one. Continuing education as well as ensuring free, equitable, and convenient access to vaccination are still required to increase the annual flu vaccination uptake among HCWs.

Background As the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to evolve, physicians must be equipped with adequate knowledge, skills on the prevention measures, and confidence in diagnosing and treating COVID-19 patients. Therefore, it is of great interest to assess the knowledge and practices of Physicians to identify existing gaps and improve occupational safety and viral surveillance. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Lebanon between 28th March and 11th April 2020. Data was collected through an online survey that included information on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, practice, physicians fear towards COVID-19 as well as their perceptions regarding actions/policies implemented by the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and their health care facilities. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify the factors associated with good knowledge of COVID-19 and good practice toward its prevention. Adjusted odds ratio and their 95% confidence intervals were reported. Results Our survey revealed that the majority of Lebanese physicians had good knowledge about the disease (89.5%) while approximately half of the respondents adopted good preventive practices (49.7%). The odds of having good knowledge was 2.16 times higher among physicians aged 40 and above (adjusted OR = 2.16 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.08 to 4.34) compared to their counterparts aged less than 40 years old. Our results also showed that the odds of good practice was 2 times higher among frontline compared to the second line workers (adjusted OR = 2.01 with 95% CI of 1.21 to 3.34). Physicians with an experience of 10 years and above were 3.35 times more likely to have good practice compared to their counterparts (adjusted OR = 3.35 with 95% CI of 1.60 to 7.02). Finally, participants with good knowledge of COVID-19 were 2.04 times more likely to have a good practice (OR = 2.04 with 95% CI of 1.01 to 4.12). Conclusion Lebanese physicians revealed a good level of knowledge; however, they had limited comprehension of the precautionary measures that protect them from this virus. Our findings have important implications for the development of strategies suitable for improving the level of practice among physicians and enhance prevention programs.

Objectives: The aim of the present systematic review was to identify the factors that potentially influence health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in women with breast cancer (BC) in the Middle East. Methods: A systematic search of the PubMed, Ovid Medline, Cochrane, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Scopus, and Ebscohost databases was conducted to identify all relevant articles published in peer-reviewed journals up to April 2018. The keywords were "Health related quality of life", "Breast Cancer", and "Middle East countries". The Newcastle-Ottawa (NOS) scale was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies. Due to the methodological heterogeneity of the identified studies, no statistical pooling of the individual effect estimates was carried out; instead, the results were summarized descriptively. Results: A total of 5668 articles were screened and 33 studies were retained. The vast majority of these studies were cross-sectional and only two were longitudinal prospective studies. Concerning the methodological quality, only 39% were of high quality. Our comprehensive literature review identified several modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors associated with HRQoL, including sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment-related factors as well as behavioral and psychosocial factors. Conclusion: This study has many implications for clinical practice and may provide a framework for establishing policy interventions to improve HRQoL among women with BC. Healthcare systems in the Middle East are encouraged to develop interventional programs targeting modifiable factors, particularly socio-demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors.The Middle East is a region located in western Asia and extends into North Africa, with an estimated population of over 411 million. It comprises 15 countries with different ethnic groups holding different cultures, norms, and beliefs. Although BC incidence rates are lower in the Middle East compared to other western societies, they have substantially increased over the last few decades [1]. According to GLOBOCAN estimates, approximately 119,985 (34.2%) new BC cases and 48,661 (24.9%) cancer-related deaths occurred in 2018 [1]. Furthermore, a large proportion of women are diagnosed with BC at younger age, i.e., under 40 years old, and at an advanced stage, where BC is generally aggressive and requires mastectomy [2]. In most countries of the Middle East, BC is still considered a sensitive and taboo topic, surrounded by shame and silence. Most Middle Eastern societies mention it as "that other disease" and many women are petrified to talk about it [3]. The perception of BC as incurable and its fatality are also a concern. Therefore, a diagnosis of BC can be a devastating event and can expose Middle Eastern women to a high burden of psychological suffering that could adversely affect their health-related quality of life (HRQoL).According to Osoba et al., HRQoL is "a multidimensional construct that includes perceptions of b...