There is worldwide interest in the use of CAM. Studying CAM in Saudi population is important as it will reflect the influence of psychosocial, cultural and religious factors on health beliefs and behaviors. The objective of this study was to present an updated review on the use of CAM practices in Saudi Arabia including commonly used types, common conditions for which it has been used and who uses CAM. This review used data from national surveys conducted in Saudi Arabia and published between 2000 and 2015. The literature search was performed considering standards adopted such as Moose guidelines for observational studies. Two authors independently reviewed each article. The search yielded 73 articles, and a total of 36 articles were included. Further careful data extraction was carried out by two independents reviewers. Most of the reviewed studies were cross-sectional in design and were published between 2014 and 2015, and mostly in Riyadh region. Substantial difference in the findings for the patterns of CAM use was revealed. The most commonly employed practice was of spiritual type such as prayer and reciting Quran alone or on water. Other types include herbs (8-76%), honey (14-73%) and dietary products (6-82%). Cupping (Alhijamah) was least used (4-45%). Acupuncture was more practiced among professionals. The utilization of CAM is widely practiced in Saudi Arabia. There is need for efforts to promote research in the field of CAM to address each practice individually. Population surveys should be encouraged supported by mass media to raise knowledge and awareness about the practice of different CAM modalities. The national center of CAM should play a major role in these efforts.

BackgroundDespite the availability of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), optimal hypertension control is not achieved in many parts of the world; one of the challenges is the volume of guidelines on this topic and their variable quality. To systematically review the quality, methodology, and consistency of recommendations of recently-developed national CPGs on the diagnosis, assessment and the management of hypertension.Methodology/Principal FindingsMEDLINE, EMBASE, guidelines' websites and Google were searched for CPGs written in English on the general management of hypertension in any clinical setting published between January 2006 and September 2011. Four raters independently appraised each CPG using the AGREE-II instrument and 2 reviewers independently extracted the data. Conflicts were resolved by discussion or the involvement of an additional reviewer. Eleven CPGs were identified. The overall quality ranged from 2.5 to 6 out of 7 on the AGREE-II tool. The highest scores were for “clarity of presentation” (44.4% −88.9%) and the lowest were for “rigour of development” (8.3%–30% for 9 CGPs). None of them clearly reported being newly developed or adapted. Only one reported having a patient representative in its development team. Systematic reviews were not consistently used and only 2 up-to-date Cochrane reviews were cited. Two CPGs graded some recommendations and related that to levels (but not quality) of evidence. The CPGs' recommendations on assessment and non-pharmacological management were fairly consistent. Guidelines varied in the selection of first-line treatment, adjustment of therapy and drug combinations. Important specific aspects of care (e.g. resistant hypertension) were ignored by 6/11 CPGs. The CPGs varied in methodological quality, suggesting that their implementation might not result in less variation of care or in better health-related outcomes.Conclusions/SignificanceMore efforts are needed to promote the realistic approach of localization or local adaptation of existing high-quality CPGs to the national context.

Vitamin D deficiency was highly prevalent, particularly among young adults and those with central obesity. Proper fortification policy, health education, and regular screening PHCCs may help prevent and treat vitamin D deficiency.

Although most patients report wanting their physicians to address the religious aspects of their lives, most physicians do not initiate questions concerning religion with their patients. Although religion plays a major role in every aspect of the life of a Muslim, most of the data on the role of religion in health have been conducted in populations that are predominantly non-Muslim. The objectives of this study were to assess Muslim physicians' beliefs and behaviours regarding religious discussions in clinical practice and to understand the factors that facilitate or impede discussion of religion in clinical settings. The study is based on a cross-sectional survey. Muslim physicians working in a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia were invited to complete a questionnaire that included demographic data; intrinsic level of religiosity; beliefs about the impact of religion on health; and observations, attitudes, behaviours, and barriers to attending to patients' religious needs. Out of 225 physicians, 91% agreed that religion had a positive influence on health, but 62.2% thought that religion could lead to the refusal of medically indicated therapy. Over half of the physicians queried never asked about religious issues. Family physicians were more likely to initiate religious discussions, and physicians with high intrinsic religiosity were more likely to share their own religious views. Residents and staff physicians tended to avoid such discussions. The study results highlight the fact that many physicians do not address patients' religious issues and that there is a need to clarify ethically sound means by which to address such needs in Islamic countries. Medical institutions should work to improve the capacity of medical personnel to appropriately address religious issues. The training of clinical religious advisors is a promising solution to this dilemma.

Abstract:Modern healthcare research has only in recent years investigated the impact of health care workers' religious and other moral values on medical practice, interaction with patients, and ethically complex decision-making. Thus far, no international data exist on the way such values vary across representatives of several national research groups came together and worked at optimizing the survey instrument for future use on the basis of the existing datasets. Research groups were identified through personal contacts with researchers requesting to use the instrument, as well as through two literature searches. Data were assembled in Stata and synchronized for their comparability using a matched intersection design based on the items in the original questionnaire. With a few optimizations and added modules appropriate for cultures more secular than that of the United States, the survey instrument holds promise as a tool for future comparative analyses. The pool at this stage consists of data from eleven studies conducted by research teams in nine different countries over six continents with responses from more than 6000 health professionals. Inspection of data between groups suggests large differences in religious and other moral values across nations and cultures, and that these values account for differences in health professional's clinical practices.

Objective: This study's main objectives are to examine the prevalence of smartphone usage at bedtime and its effect on sleep quality among Saudi non-medical staff working in King Saud University medical city in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out over the period from January 2016 to July 2016 A sample of 435 Saudi adults aged 21 years and above working in King Saud University Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia participated in a self-reported Arabic questionnaire about bedtime usage of smartphone and sleep quality. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data were analyzed using odds ratio. Results: More than 98% of the respondents owned a smartphone, and nine out of ten use their smartphones at bedtime. Social media was the most used service among participants. An increase in bedtime smartphone use specially more than 60 minutes makes participants at great risk of having poor sleep quality. Conclusion: our findings suggest that employees who use their smartphones more at bedtime have more risk of being poor sleepers. More attention should be drawn to the misuse of smartphones and its effect sleep quality, health and productivity of adults.

Collaboration within the recently established Network for Research on Spirituality and Health (NERSH) has made it possible to pool data from 14 different surveys from six continents. All surveys are largely based on the questionnaire by Curlin "Religion and Spirituality in Medicine, Perspectives of Physicians" (RSMPP). This article is a methodological description of the process of building the International NERSH Data Pool. The larger contours of the data are described using frequency statistics. Five subscales in the data pool (including the already established DUREL scale) were tested using Cronbach's alpha and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). 5724 individuals were included, of which 57% were female and the mean age was 41.5 years with a 95% confidence interval (CI) ranging from 41.2 to 41.8. Most respondents were physicians (n = 3883), nurses (n = 1189), and midwives (n = 286); but also psychologists (n = 50), therapists (n = 44), chaplains (n = 5), and students (n = 10) were included. The DUREL scale was assessed with Cronbach's alpha (α = 0.92) and PCA confirmed its reliability and unidimensionality. The new scales covering the dimensions of "Religiosity of Health Professionals (HPs)" (α = 0.89), "Willingness of Physicians to Interact with Patients Regarding R/S Issues" (α = 0.79), "Religious Objections to Controversial Issues in Medicine" (α = 0.78), and "R/S as a Calling" (α = 0.82), also proved unidimensional in the PCAs. We argue that the proposed scales are relevant and reliable measures of religious dimensions within the data pool. Finally, we outline future studies already planned based on the data pool, and invite interested researchers to join the NERSH collaboration.

Vitamin D deficiency was highly prevalent in Saudi medical students. Modifiable factors such as vitamin D intake and PA could be targeted for intervention. Further studies with standardized laboratory measurements of 25(OH)D are needed to explore the role of vitamin D testing in behavioral change, which may lead to increased serum 25(OH)D levels.