Family caregivers of people with mental disorders face a number of burdens and stressors, such as associative stigma and burnout. These burdens are often a result of their caring role coupled with insufficient support or ineffective coping strategies, which can affect their quality of life and biopsychosocial integrity that, in turn, may affect the care they provide. This study aimed to explore the experiences of family caregivers of people with mental disorders, through examining the burdens that they face and the coping strategies that they use. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the Saudi public, recruited through popular social media platforms and analyzed using thematic analysis. Five main themes were constructed from the data: Type of care, Challenges, Coping and support, Perceptions of public awareness, and Messages to others. The findings emphasize the different types of burdens that caregivers experience, and their needs that require a range of responses such as educational training on effective coping strategies, and psychological support in the form of counseling or group therapy. This study highlights the voice of caregivers and their message to the public, in order to correct the misconceptions surrounding mental disorders and those associated with them.

Newspapers are influential sources of information and opinion on mental health, but careless reporting may reinforce stigma. This review examined portrayals of mental disorder in Saudi Arabian newspapers. A cross-sectional sample (N = 200) of relevant articles was obtained from four of the most popular newspapers. These were categorised for descriptive and thematic analysis, using an established framework. The theme of highest frequency was advocacy, actions, and concerns; such articles were likely to have a positive impact by raising public awareness. Similarly, numerous reports with the theme of treatment and recovery informed readers of developments in mental health care, potentially breaking down barriers to seeking help. The theme of blame was found in a quarter of the articles; in addition to discussing environmental and genetic factors, there were several commentaries or reports on spiritual possession, which could perpetuate stigmatising ideas. While portrayals of mental disorder in Saudi newspapers show similarities to media coverage in other countries, distinct cultural perspectives were evident, including the prevailing notion of the ‘evil eye’. The authors recommend collaboration of mental health experts, patients and family carers to devise guidelines for more accurate reporting of mental disorder by Saudi media.

Mental illness is not uncommon among young adults, but negative attitudes towards mental disorders and lack of parental support might be associated with hesitancy in seeking professional help. This study aimed to examine the relationships of parental support, beliefs about mental illness, and mental help-seeking among young adults in Saudi Arabia. This quantitative cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 236 young adults (ages 18–25) with the majority of the total (86.4%) being female. Data were collected via three self-administered questionnaires: The Perceived Parental Support Scale, Beliefs toward Mental Illness scale, and Mental Help Seeking Attitude Scale. Results indicated that the participants had a moderately negative attitude toward mental illness, a moderately positive attitude toward parental support, and a highly positive attitude toward mental help-seeking. No significant relationships were found among the study variables. The study highlights that despite young adults’ positive attitude toward mental help-seeking and parental support, they have negative views toward people with mental illnesses. Educational programs in schools and media are needed to improve attitudes and enhance readiness to interact with people with mental illness.

Aim: This study’s aim was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of mothers regarding childhood vaccination during the first five years of children’s lives in Saudi Arabia. Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted with the application of convenience sampling, and 262 questionnaires were completed by Saudi mothers who had children aged 5 years or younger. Results: The majority of the participants were aged 25–31 years (57%), 61% held a bachelor’s degree, and 60.3% had children aged 2–5 years. The knowledge score was 86%, 2492 out of a total score of 2893; the attitude score was 89.1%, 973 out of a total score of 1052; the practice score was 80.5%, 1059 out of a total score of 1315. There was no evidence of an association (p > 0.05) between the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of mothers regarding vaccination and their sociodemographic aspects. Conclusion: The Saudi mothers in our sample were knowledgeable, with positive attitudes regarding vaccination, and they demonstrated good practices. This might be explained by the higher educational level of our sample. Recommendations: We recommend using multiple educational methods to support the practice of mothers regarding the management of complications of vaccinations.

The rise in documented rates of workplace violence (WPV) in healthcare facilities has become a major issue for healthcare providers worldwide, particularly nurses. The exposure to such violence can result in grave consequences for the physiological and psychological well-being of nurses. However, previous studies in the field rarely differentiated between the types of workplace violence, their sources, and their impact on nursing staff. Aim: This review aims to describe the prevalence of WPV against nurses in hospitals. Methods: A literature review, based on the PRISMA guidelines, of studies of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method design that focus on nursing WPV. A literature search is conducted using CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PubMed databases, via the Saudi Digital library. The search includes studies published during the last five years. All of the studies included are critically appraised using the critical appraisal tool developed by Hawker et al. (2002). In total, 25 studies matching the inclusion criteria emerge from the selection process, and are included in the review. Results: A total of four themes emerge from the literature related specifically to WPV towards nurses, namely common settings where violence is experienced, common types of violence, the characteristics of perpetrators, and the overall impact of violence on nurses. The most common hospital settings where WPV is experienced include the emergency and psychiatric departments, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The most prevalent forms of WPV are, in order of prevalence from most common to least, verbal, physical, psychological, and horizontal violence. Rates of WPV exposure are found to vary according to world region, with the highest rates for physical violence, sexual harassment, and horizontal abuse in the United States (US), and the highest rates of psychological violence and bullying in Asia. Patients, and patients' families/friends are the most common perpetrators of WPV. The consequences of WPV are found to include a diminished physical and emotional well-being, linked to an increase in job dissatisfaction, burnout, absenteeism, and resignation from work. Conclusion: This review recommends that more high-quality research should be conducted in this field, using systematic techniques and standardized tools that enable generalization across studies. Furthermore, it recommends that preventive action in the form of multi-level educational programmes, and legislative polices to support and protect the rights of those reporting WPV, are urgently required.

Introduction: Nursing students experience higher levels of stress than those in other health-related disciplines; however, there are limited data exploring stress among these students in a Saudi context. Aim: This study examines sources of stress among nursing students at an academic institution in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, using a descriptive quantitative cross-sectional research design. Methods: Data were collected from a convenience sample of 500 undergraduate nursing students, with a response rate of 71.8%, using an adapted Stress in Nursing Students (SINS) questionnaire. Results: Nursing student sources of stress fell into three categories: academic concerns, clinical practice, and social factors. Discussion: The results demonstrate commonality between other countries’ sources of stress for nursing students but highlight cultural factors unique to Saudi Arabia. This study shows opportunities for cross-cultural learning and areas needing cultural tailoring to reduce stress among nursing students.

It is mandatory that healthcare workers wear personal protective equipment (PPE) while caring for COVID-19 patients. Studies have shown that wearing PPE for a prolonged time may lead to symptoms of physical discomfort including headache. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and association between prolonged use of PPE and headaches. This was a cross-sectional study. A convenience sample of healthcare workers who worked with COVID-19 patients in clinical settings was recruited. The data were collected through an electronic survey shared as a link through social media. This study included 1060 participants, 753 (71%) female and 307 (29%) male. Participants were divided into two groups. Group A had 628 (60%) participants who did not have chronic headache before the COVID-19 pandemic, while Group B contained 432 (40%) participants who had a previous chronic headache. Headaches differed significantly between Groups A and B in frequency, type, location, and quality during the COVID-19 period. The analysis found a significant relationship between duration of PPE use and headache occurrence. The significant relationship between the duration of PPE usage and headache occurrence among healthcare workers should be considered when refining policies and procedures regarding prolonged PPE use.

Background: Nursing is considered to be a primarily female profession, particularly in Saudi Arabia, despite the fact that male nurses have contributed to the advancement of the nursing profession in various specialties, such as military nursing, mental health, and critical care. Purpose: We explore the factors influencing Saudi male nursing interns to study within the nursing profession in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted. A convenience sample of 12 Saudi male nursing interns from different nursing colleges were recruited, alongside four hospital internship coordinators. The data were collected by conducting two semi-structured focus group interviews and four individual interviews. All the interviews were analyzed using a comparative analytical approach. Results: Role models and the role of the internship year were identified as factors influencing Saudi male nurses’ decision to study nursing. However, hospital placements, cultural preferences, and the preferences of patients and their families for female nurses were the key challenges encountered. Importantly, this study demonstrated that social media plays a critical role in raising awareness regarding the importance of Saudi male nurses. Conclusion: Awareness needs to be raised of the nursing profession as a gender-diverse field through volunteering programs for the community. It is recommended that Saudi male nurses act as role models for students in the Academic Orientation Forum and on social media.