Background: Colon cancer screening (CRCS) uptake is markedly affected by public awareness of the disease. This study was conducted to assess levels of knowledge of CRC, to explore the pattern of CRCS uptake and identify possible barriers to screening among Saudis older than 50 years of age and primary care providers (PCPs) in Al Hassa region, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected primary health care (PHC) centers, 884 Saudis and 39 PCPs being enrolled for data collection. Structured interviews were conducted to obtain information regarding socio-demographic characteristics, personal information relevant to CRC, awareness about early signs/symptoms and risk factors, and barriers to CRCS. Also, a self-administered data collection form was used to assess barriers to CRCS from the physicians' perspectives. Results: More than 66% of participants were lacking knowledge about CRC. Participants with higher educational levels, having ever heard about CRC, and having relatives with CRC had a significantly higher awareness of the disease. The rate of reported CRCS was low (8.6%). After conducting a logistic regression analysis, it was observed that female gender (OR=0.28; 95% CI=0.14-0.57; P=0.001), being unmarried (OR=0.11; 95% CI=0.10-0.23; P=0.001), lower levels of education (OR=0.36; 95% CI=0.16-0.82; P=0.015), and having no relatives with CRC (OR=0.30; 95% CI=0.17-0.56; P=0.001) were significantly associated with a lower CRCS uptake. There was a significant difference between most of the perceived barriers to CRCS and gender. Exploratory factor analysis showed that personal fear (especially fear of the screening results and shyness) was the major factor that hindered CRCS with high loading Eigen value of 2.951, explaining 34.8% of the barriers of the included sample toward utilization of CRCS, followed by lack of awareness of both person and providers (high Eigen value of 2.132, and explaining 23.7% of the barriers). The most frequently cited barriers to CRCS from the physicians' perspectives were lack of public awareness, lack of symptoms and signs, and fear of painful procedures. Conclusions: Poor levels of knowledge about CRC were found among older Saudis attending PHC centers in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia. It is crucial to implement an organized national screening program in Saudi Arabia to increase public awareness.

Identification of risk factors and outcome of VAP in PICUs may help in reducing the incidence and improving patients' outcomes. The incidence of VAP in this study was relatively high. The most prominent risk factors for occurrence of VAP were MOSF, prior antibiotic use for > 48 h before MV, reintubation, coma and age. Proper use of antibiotics before MV in PICUs is essential. Also, adequate training of nurses and strict supervision of infection control protocols are crucial. Lack of a gold standard for the diagnosis of VAP and difficulty in sampling procedures were among the study limitations.

There is scope for improvement in knowledge and attitude after educational program was offered to the nursing staff. Educational training programs should be multidisciplinary interventions in the era of quality control to help healthcare workers realize the importance of basic infection-control measures in reducing pediatric morbidity and mortality and improving the quality of care.

Aim: This study was carried out to determine the prevalence and predictors of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection among symptomatic children and the effect on growth. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Outpatient Clinics of the Gastroenterology Unit of the Pediatric Hospital, Cairo University. A total of 630 children complaining of any symptoms or signs suspicious of H. pylori infection were enrolled. Weight and height were measured for each child, and the standard deviation scores (Z-scores) for weightfor-age (WAZ), weight-for-height (WHZ), and height-forage (HAZ) were calculated. H. pylori was diagnosed using a stool antigen test. Results: The overall prevalence of infection was 64.6%. Socio-demographic variables significantly associated with H. pylori were residence in Upper Egypt (P = 0.013) and rural areas (P = 0.004), illiteracy of mothers (P = 0.017), household crowding index ≥ 3 (P = 0.011), absence of pure water supply (P = 0.005), and eating from street vendors (P < 0.001). Values of WAZ [median, interquartile range (IQR) in infected = − 1.3(− 2.7 to − 0.4) and non-infected = − 0.7(− 2.1 to − 0.1), P < 0.001], HAZ (P = 0.036), and WHZ (P = 0.005) were significantly lower in children infected with H. pylori. After performing a backward logistic regression analysis, eating from street vendors (OR = 1.879, 95% CI 1.346-2.625, P < 0.001), absence of pure water supply (OR = 1.725, 95% CI 1.162-2.561, P = 0.007), and overcrowding (OR = 1.547, 95% CI 1.100-2.177, P = 0.012) remained the significant predictors of H. pylori infection. Conclusion: A high prevalence of H. pylori infection among symptomatic children was detected. The extra-digestive effects of H. pylori were revealed in the form of affection of growth parameters and reduced levels of serum hemoglobin, iron, and ferritin.

Objectives: Knowledge on risk factors of bullying and victimization among school students is crucial for the implementation of preventive measures. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and correlates of school bullying and victimization and their association with behavioral disorders among preparatory and secondary school students in rural Egypt. Study design: Cross-sectional Methods: A total of 476 students from two mixed public schools in rural Egypt (one preparatory and one secondary) were enrolled. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic characteristics and correlates of bullying and victimization including personal and social, family, school, and community factors. Frequency of bullying and victimization was measured using the short version aggression and victimization scale. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used for screening behavioral problems. Results: Prevalence of bullying behavior was high (77.8%) among the studied group, of those 9.5% were unique bullies, 10.5% were unique victims, and 57.8% were bully-victims. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, failure in previous scholastic years (OR = 11.1, 95% CI 1.1-101.4, P = 0.033), witnessing family members using weapons (OR = 6.1, 95% CI 1.1-34.0, P = 0.038), male gender (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-5.0, P = 0.027), and mothers' education (university or higher) (OR = 0.1, 95% CI 0.02-0.7, P = 0.017) remained the significant predictors for bullying. However, only having a drug addict friend (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.1-5.4, P = 0.025) was the significant predictor for victimization. The independent predictors for being bully-victims in order of importance were exposure to physical violence in the street (OR = 5.1, 95% CI 1.2-22.7, P = 0.031), male gender (OR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.8-5.6, P < 0.001), witnessing fights (OR = 3.1, 95% CI 1.7-5.7, P < 0.001) and insulting words (OR = 2.5, 95% CI 1.3-4.7, P = 0.007) among family members, exposure to insulting words in the street (OR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.2-3.7, P = 0.010), watching violent movies (OR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.4, P = 0.008), and younger age (OR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.6-0.8, P < 0.001). The self-reported SDQ revealed that the conduct problems scale scored significantly higher among bully-victims (2.8 ± 1.7 vs. 2.3 ± 1.6, P = 0.004). Conclusions: Prevalence of bullying behavior was high among rural adolescent school students. Establishment of a bullying prevention committee at school including all school personnel for addressing different factors associated with bullying behavior is recommended. Further follow-up and psychiatric assessment of students for predicting those prone to behavioral abnormalities are also recommended.

Monitoring the levels of cellular and humoral immunological parameters together with assessing PELOD and PRISM III scores can significantly affect prognosis and survival of septic children.

BACKGROUND: In Egypt, more than one in four children suffers from some degree of anemia. AIM: This study was carried out to assess and improve the nutritional knowledge and risky nutritional habits of the mothers of anemic children aged 2–12 years old in El Othmanyia village. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An interventional study was conducted among anemic children aged 2–12 years old and their mothers in El Othmanyia village, Egypt. The study passed through three stages over 1 and ½ years; pre-interventional assessment of awareness (n = 350), educational interventions targeting anemic children and their mothers, and post-interventional evaluation of change in awareness and practice. RESULTS: The mean knowledge % score of mothers increased significantly after the intervention (82.2 ± 14.2 vs. 6.3 ± 5.8, respectively). Furthermore, the mean hemoglobin of the studied children increased significantly after the intervention (11.1 ± 0.7 vs. 10.5 ± 0.7). The percent of children with anemia decreased significantly from 100% to 40.3% after the intervention (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The knowledge and practices of mothers are moving in a desirable direction after the health education intervention. Hence, nutrition education is an appropriate, effective, and sustainable approach to combat iron deficiency anemia. Recommendations: A multiple interventional strategies between different ministries to set policies and guidelines that support the healthy nutritional behavior among children are recommended.

Diarrhea is considered as a major cause of mortality in children aged less than five years old. This pre/post interventional study was designed to assess maternal knowledge about diarrhea and implement a community-based health and nutrition education messages. The study was held in Al-Darb Al-Ahamar (ADAA) district, Cairo, Egypt and targeted a random sample of 600 mothers having at least one child under-five years old and complained of at least one previous attack of diarrhea. The study was conducted in three phases. The pre-intervention phase included a base line survey for the mothers and training activities for the community health workers (CHWs). Intervention phase included health and nutrition education sessions; performance evaluation for the CHWs during providing the message. In phase three, the mothers had no instructions for 3 months then the post- intervention interview and feedback sessions were conducted. Results showed that knowledge of mothers about diarrhea (etiological factors and preventive measures) had improved significantly after the intervention. During observation CHWs’ scored 50% of the required tasks in education and communication skills. In the feedback sessions, all the mothers declared that nutrition education sessions were highly valuable, and asked for on-going support and training programs. The current study found that health and nutrition education sessions were successful in improving mothers’ knowledge regarding preventive measures and management of diarrhea. CHWs are effective health education providers especially in household based intervention. Thus, health services should support community based interventions to reinforce mothers’ knowledge and practices towards their sick children.