Context: Blood transfusion is an essential medical procedure conducted with various purposes to provide patients with blood needed. The procedure saves patients’ lives, as blood cannot be manufactured artificially and can only be obtained from human blood sources. Aims: To assess the awareness of, perceptions of, motivations regarding, and barriers to blood donation among a sample of Jazan University students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Settings and Design: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted among the undergraduate students of Jazan University. Materials and Methods: Stratified random sampling was used to collect information from 440 students, and a predesigned, structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the study variables. Statistical Analysis: Involved descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. SPSS was used for data analysis. Results: The prevalence of blood donation was 29.0% (95% CI, 25.0–33.3), significantly higher for males at 44.3% (95% CI, 38.3–50.4) than for females at 10.5% (95% CI, 7.3–16.0; P < 0.001), and with odds ratio (OR) = 6.8; [95% CI, 4.1–11.2] than females. Students’ level of knowledge regarding blood donation was low. The main barriers to blood donation were identified as being unqualified for blood donation (57.5%) and risk of contracting infectious disease (48.7%) and the desire to donate in the future to a close friend (38.6%). The main motivations for donating blood were identified as religious reasons (77.5%), altruism (77.5%), and to serve the homeland and meet the call of need (77.5%). Conclusions: The prevalence of blood donation was found to be low, and students’ knowledge regarding blood donation appeared to be lacking. The development of awareness programs among the university’s students will address students’ misconceptions about blood donation and encourage them to join donation campaigns.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices based on an inhalationactivated system that heats up a cartridge, producing vapours that are inhaled by the users. The cartridges contain liquids that consist of various combinations of propylene glycol, glycerine, nicotine, tobacco extracts, flavourants and/or adulterants. Owing to their diminished reliance on combustion (contrary to regular cigarettes), active or passive users are less exposed to harmful particles (Unger & Unger, 2018).In the last few years, the use of e-cigarettes has steadily increased.In several countries, they are advertised as safe devices that can satisfy

Insomnia, a common sleep disorder, is a public health concern, as it can lead to physical and mental exhaustion. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of insomnia and the common associated risk factors among students at Jazan University, in the Jazan region of southwestern Saudi Arabia. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 712 students. A pre-designed, structured questionnaire was used to collect the relevant information pertaining to the study variables. The overall prevalence of insomnia in the study was 19.3%. There was no significant difference in prevalence between males and females (p-value = 0.5). Participants from health colleges had greater prevalence of insomnia than those from art and Islamic colleges and science colleges (p-value = 0.03). Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress were significant risk factors for insomnia (p-value = 0.005, 0.000, 0.000, respectively). Insomnia is widely prevalent among Jazan University students. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, together with a noisy environment around the sleeping area, are important correlates. Screening for mental illnesses among university students is highly recommended.

Background: One of the factors that may influence patient adherence to a healthy lifestyle is the adherence of their treating physicians to a healthy lifestyle. This study aimed to measure the lifestyles of primary healthcare center (PHCs) physicians in the Jazan region and to identify the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity among this sample of physicians. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Jazan region which lies in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected via a questionnaire completed during personal interviews. The questionnaire included several components related to physicians’ demographics, lifestyles, and history of chronic non-communicable diseases. Descriptive statistics were performed to summarize the overall lifestyle of the physicians and disease prevalence. Results: A total of 234 physicians agreed to participate in this investigation. The age of the participants varied between 25 and 65 years, with a median age of 38. Almost 70% of the physicians reported BMI levels higher than 25, indicating a high prevalence of overweight and obesity. Twenty-seven physicians reported no engagement in any type of exercise while the majority reported engagement with low-intensity exercise. While 56% reported daily consumption of vegetables, only 41.8% of them reported daily consumption of fruits. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia was 10.3%, 8.5%, and 3.4%, respectively. Conclusion: Poor lifestyle choices of the physicians may indicate limited engagement of the physicians in providing effective lifestyle counseling to patients visiting their clinics in PHC settings of the studied community.

The contraceptive use profile is poorly understood in some Gulf Arabian countries, including Saudi Arabia. The present study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices related to contraceptive use among women of childbearing age in Jazan city, Saudi Arabia. An observational, analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among a random sample of 450 women in Jazan city. The data were obtained through personal interviews using a questionnaire that included questions on women’s level of knowledge about contraception methods, their attitudes towards contraception methods, and their practices. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics techniques using the SPSS program. The prevalence of ever having used contraceptives was significantly different according to age group, job status, children ever born, and the number of pregnancies (p < 0.05 for all). On the other hand, the prevalence of desire to use the contraceptives in the future was high, at 70.9%, with a 95% CI [66.5–74.9]. It differed significantly according to age group and job status (p < 0.05 for both). The most familiar and usable types of contraceptives were pills (36.3%) and intrauterine devices (24.4%). When asked their reasons for using contraceptives, 53.8% of participants cited child spacing and 21.8% improving child health. Logistic regression revealed that the use of contraception among women was more associated with the 20–34 age group [COR = 7.7, 95% CI = 4.4–13.5, p < 0.001] than the 15–24 age group. Having more than one pregnancy and having more than one child were also associated with increased use of contraceptive methods (p < 0.001 for both). These results indicate there is a high level of awareness about contraceptives, a positive attitude toward them, and good practices for the use of them among Saudi women in Jazan. More efforts are needed to improve women’s awareness for better utilization of the available services.