Once the Cinderella of chronic diseases, diabetes mellitus is now fast emerging as one of the biggest health catastrophes the world has ever witnessed. Almost 6% of the world's adult population now live with diabetes (Sicree et al, 2003; International Federation of Diabetes, 2006). It has been predicted that the total number of people with diabetes will rise to 366 million in less than 30 years if preventative action is not taken (Wild et al, 2004). Diabetes is no longer a concern of an individual country. It has huge global and societal implications, particularly in developing countries where the development of diabetes at an early age can lead to untoward human suffering, disability and socioeconomic cost. An internationally coordinated effort is required to improve human behaviour and lifestyle to halt the global diabetes epidemic and the development of such complications as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, cardiovascular diseases, peripheral vascular diseases and stroke. For such a formula to be successful, it is important for nurses to be proactive in their political role in ensuring that people with diabetes become expert in their condition. In so doing, healthcare systems and resources could be used more effectively to reduce real human and economic costs.

Such results delineated the importance of revising nursing schools' curricula and the universities' admission policies into the nursing profession.

This cross-sectional survey assessed the level of competence of nursing graduates of Jordanian universities (2001-2004 cohorts) in relation to the type of university, sex, hospital type, and working area. A convenience sample (n = 258) of full-time nurses (6 months-4 years' experience) was selected from public, private, and teaching hospitals. A specifically designed tool with a rating scale of 1-5 was used to evaluate the nurses' competence in five nursing competencies (management, professionalism, problem-solving, nursing process, and knowledge of basic skills). The findings showed a satisfactory competency level with no significant differences related to the type of university or sex. General ward nurses scored significantly better than those in intensive care units in relation to management, professionalism, and nursing process, while the teaching hospital nurses showed significantly better performance in professionalism and management skills than did the nurses in the other two sectors. We recommend that nurse recruitment policies should consider individual competencies rather than innate characteristics in their selection of employees.

Infertility is a health problem encompassing physical, psychological and social consequences that may threaten women's quality of life. Few studies have been conducted in Jordan examining rural women's experiences of infertility. This study aimed to explore responses to infertility and its consequences in the Jordanian rural sociocultural context. Using a descriptive qualitative design, data were collected between April and September 2016 from a fertility clinic in a military hospital in Northern Jordan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 purposively selected Jordanian women. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings revealing women's responses to infertility included: submission and docility, self-isolation, internalisation and persistence in getting pregnant by seeking modern and traditional methods of treatment. The impact of infertility complicated women's everyday living through their experiences of violence, kinship and patriarchal interference, stigma, negative perceptions of the infertile woman, and other's surveillance of their sexuality. Women living in rural areas of Jordan have negative experiences of infertility that are ingrained in sociocultural beliefs about fertility and reproduction. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to raise public awareness about infertility's adverse consequences and to help families by enhancing positive responses to infertility.

A woman's child-bearing encounter is an experience that reflects the cultural beliefs and practices of the society. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions and practices of urban, low socioeconomic, Jordanian women (aged 18-30 years) in relation to their pregnancy career. An opportunistic sample consisting of 67 Muslim first-time pregnant women who followed up antenatal care at two maternity-care centres in East Amman was selected. A qualitative approach, including ethnographic semistructured interview, participant observation data from the households and clinics and oblique interviewing in random conversations initiated by the primigravidae, was conducted over 18 months. Women gave elaborative accounts of their pregnancy and childbirth expectations in narrative, phenomenological forms. Qualitative data analysis was performed concurrently with data collection, revealing the essential themes of immediacy of pregnancy; familial support and changing networks, especially for the after-birth period; fear of pain and medical interventions, all emphasizing the traditional and religious perceptions and practices in a familial context.