BackgroundHealth information obtained from the Internet has an impact on patient health care outcomes. There is a growing concern over the quality of online health information sources used by diabetic patients because little is known about their health information–seeking behavior and the impact this behavior has on their diabetes-related self-care, in particular in the Middle East setting.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the online health-related information–seeking behavior among adult type 2 diabetic patients in the Middle East and the impact of their online health-related information–seeking behavior on their self-care activities.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted on 344 patients with type 2 diabetes attending inpatient and outpatient primary health care clinics at 2 teaching hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main outcome measures included the ability of patients to access the Internet, their ability to use the Internet to search for health-related information, and their responses to Internet searches in relation to their self-care activities. Further analysis of differences based on age, gender, sociodemographic, and diabetes-related self-care activities among online health-related information seekers and nononline health-related information seekers was conducted.ResultsAmong the 344 patients, 74.1% (255/344) were male with a mean age of 53.5 (SD 13.8) years. Only 39.0% (134/344) were Internet users; 71.6% (96/134) of them used the Internet for seeking health-related information. Most participants reported that their primary source of health-related information was their physician (216/344, 62.8%) followed by television (155/344, 45.1%), family (113/344, 32.8%), newspapers (100/344, 29.1%), and the Internet (96/344, 27.9%). Primary topics participants searched for were therapeutic diet for diabetes (55/96, 57%) and symptoms of diabetes (52/96, 54%) followed by diabetes treatment (50/96, 52%). Long history of diabetes, familial history of the disease, unemployment, and not seeking diabetes education were the most common barriers for online health-related information–seeking behavior. Younger age, female, marital status, higher education, higher income, and longer duration of Internet usage were associated with more online health-related information–seeking behaviors. Most (89/96, 93%) online health-related information seekers reported positive change in their behaviors after seeking online health information. Overall odds ratio (OR 1.56, 95% CI 0.63-3.28) for all self-care responses demonstrated that there was no statistically significant difference between those seeking health-related information online and non–health-related information seekers. However, health-related information seekers were better in testing their blood glucose regularly, taking proper action for hyperglycemia, and adopting nonpharmacological management.ConclusionsPhysicians and television are still the primary sources of health-related information for adult diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia whether they se...

BackgroundThere is a need to better understand the depression phenomenon and to clarify why some students become depressed and others don’t. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of depressive symptoms among health professions’ (HP) students, and to explore the association between socio-demographic factors (e.g. year of study, discipline, gender) and depressive symptoms.MethodsIn this descriptive–analytic, cross-sectional study, stratified proportionate sampling strategy was used to select the study sample during the academic year 2012–2013. The students from four health professions’ schools situated within a large, public university located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were screened for depressive symptoms using the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI II). Chi-square test, student t-test and ANOVA were used to compare different categorical variables.ResultsThe overall response rate was 79.0 %, the highest among dental students 86.1 %, and lowest among nursing (49.7 %). The overall prevalence rate of depressive symptoms was 47.0 %; it was highest among dentistry students (51.6 %), followed by medicine (46.2 %), applied medical sciences (AMS) (45.7 %) and lowest among nursing students (44.2 %). A statistically significant association was found between the presence and severity of depressive symptoms on one hand and the female gender (p = 0.000) and year of study on the other hand.ConclusionThis study seems to indicate an alarming rate of depressive symptoms. Female gender, dentistry, the third year for all schools and fifth year for medicine and dentistry have the highest association with depressive symptoms. Future studies may be needed to explore further the reasons and explanations for the variation in the prevalence of depressive symptoms among these groups. The factors that deserve exploration include curricular variables and personal factors such as the students’ study skills.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0794-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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BackgroundAny curriculum change is essentially an environmental change; therefore there is a need to assess the impact of any change in the curriculum on the students’ perception of the Educational Environment (EE) and psychological well-being. The objectives of the current study are to (i) compare the EE perceptions of medical students studying in a System Based Curriculum (SBC) with those studying in a traditional curriculum (ii) compare the rate of depressive symptoms among the same students studying in both types of curricula (iii) determine whether there is a difference in the EE perception and depressive symptoms based on gender and year of study.MethodsA cross sectional survey was conducted in a Saudi Medical School from 2007-2011, a period in which the school transitioned from a traditional to a SBC. A bilingual version of the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) inventory was used for measuring the EE; the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI II) was used for screening of depressive symptoms. A separate demographic questionnaire was also used. Mean scores and percentages were calculated. Continuous variables were summarized as means and standard deviation. For comparison of means, the effect size and student t test (with significance level of <0.05) were used. The percentages of the categorical data were compared using chi square test.ResultsThe mean total DREEM score of positive perception of the EE in the SBC students was significantly higher (better) than the traditional curriculum students (p < 0.01) with an effect size of 0.472. The mean total score on the BDI-II inventory for depressive symptoms was higher (sicker) 21.3 among the female traditional curriculum students than 16.7 among the male traditional curriculum students and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.001). The BDI score of the female SBC students (14.7) was significantly lower (healthier) than the female traditional curriculum students (21.3). No similar change was noted for the male students.ConclusionThe current study adds to the advantages of the SBC indicating not only healthier EE for both genders but also healthier emotional well-being for female students only.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1472-6920-14-192) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Slow internal drainage is a major problem in the reclamation of saline‐sodic soils. This field experiment was conducted on a low‐permeability, saline‐sodic soil (a fine‐loamy, mixed, thermic Typic Natrustalf) near Lahore, Pakistan, to compare field‐saturated hydraulic conductivities (Kfs) after various treatments. Treatments were: (i) deep‐rooted perennial alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), (ii) sesbania [Sesbania bispinosa (Jacq.) W.F. Wright]‐wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)‐sesbania rotation, (iii) incorporated wheat straw at 7.5 Mg Ha−1, and (iv) a fallow control. These four treatments were each combined with and without 25 Mg ha−1 of gypsum, subsoiling to 0.45 m, and open‐ditch drainage. The Kfs of the soil under each treatment was measured in each 20‐cm increment to 120 cm after 6 mo and 1 yr. Gypsum applications increased the Kfs of the top 20‐cm soil layers. Compared with uncropped plots, Kfs of the 0‐ to 20‐cm depth on cropped plots with gypsum increased about twofold after 6 mo and about fourfold after 1 yr. The crop rotation significantly increased the Kfs of the 0‐ to 20‐cm (with and without gypsum) when compared with wheat straw or fallow treatments. The Kfs on plots with alfalfa plus gypsum were significantly greater to 80 cm than the Kfs on fallow plots. Neither subsoiling nor open‐ditch drains improved soil permeability. Gypsum plus sesbania‐wheat‐sesbania rotation most increased permeability of the surface layer; gypsum plus alfalfa was best to improve the permeability of the deeper layers.

The communities studied showed a very high prevalence of hypertension, obesity and a sedentary life style. Despite a high literacy rate, awareness regarding CHD risk factors was low. This underlines the need for measures to increase awareness regarding CHD and its risk factors and a healthy lifestyle in the developing countries.