Introduction Mental stigma is when patients of mental illness are labeled by their disorders, viewed negatively, and discriminated against due to their illness. This has a big impact on people's attitudes and behaviors toward the mentally ill. Moreover, mental stigma leads people to avoid patients with mental health issues, blame them for their conditions, and associate them with negative features like being dangerous, unpredictable, and hard to communicate with. The primary objective of this study is to assess the mental stigma among the population of the Al-Ahsa region in Saudi Arabia. Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, between June and August 2021. The target population of the study was people aged 18-65 years old whose place of residency during the time of the study was Al-Ahsa. The questionnaire used in this study contained a mental stigma scale called community attitudes toward mental illness (CAMI). Results A total of 758 participants were enrolled in the study. The mean of the stigma score was 99.24 ± 15.622, with a minimum of 53 and a maximum of 176. The means of the subscales were as follows: authoritarianism (26.18 ± 4.420), benevolence (23.26 ± 4.762), community mental health ideology (24.66 ± 5.896), and social restrictiveness (25.13 ± 4.6). There was a positive relationship between age and stigma score. Healthcare workers were found to have a lower level of stigma, as were those who spoke more languages. Also, being diagnosed with a mental illness and knowing someone who is diagnosed with a mental illness were associated with a lower level of stigma. Conclusion Most of the population (91.96%) had a low to medium-low level of stigma. The variables found to affect the level of stigma were age, career, number of spoken languages, being diagnosed with a mental illness, and knowing someone who is diagnosed with a mental illness. Mental stigma has a great impact on the person, as it can prevent the patient from seeking help, lead to isolation, and suicidal ideation. Future stigma-targeted campaigns are recommended.
Background: Shift workers, people who work outside workday hours, are thought to be at risk of decreased alertness and productivity; hence, there is an increased possibility of occupational hazards to happen. Hospital employment requires health professions to be available for work at all times, and this forces the healthcare workers to take on night shifts. Thus, these workers are susceptible to occupationally related sleep disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the quality and duration of sleep among night shift health workers at the Saudi Arabian Eastern Province-hospitals. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out among health workers working in eight to ten-hour shifts at Eastern Province hospitals in Saudi Arabia. A pretested, structured online questionnaire with twenty-six questions was distributed among the hospitals to healthcare workers, with a total of 252 responses received. The online questionnaire assessed and compared the difference between the sleep quality of these workers while working during the night shift, and the quality of sleep of these workers while having days off from work. Results: Responses of the healthcare workers to the online questionnaire who worked night shifts replied that they had problems falling and staying asleep (76% and 72.2% respectively). Of these, they suffered from overall poor quality of sleep (59.8%) and reported decreased mental function while awake (64.9%). Furthermore, 74% of respondents reported that during their days off, their occupational-related sleep disorders improved. However, more than half of the respondents noted that they faced difficulties in falling asleep. Conclusion: Sleep disorders are prominent within night-shift healthcare workers which affected their overall performance at work. Thus, it is recommended that such healthcare workers follow-up with sleep specialists improve their overall quality of sleep.
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