Predictors of glaucoma knowledge and its risk factors among Jordanian patients with primary open angle glaucoma at a tertiary teaching hospital: A cross-sectional survey.

PURPOSE OF STUDY: To assess and compare glaucoma knowledge between Jordanian patients with glaucoma and non-glaucoma ophthalmic patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was developed after an extensive literature search to investigate glaucoma-related knowledge among participants with glaucoma visiting the Jordan University Hospital clinics from October 2021 to February 2022. Responses were compared to a sample of ophthalmic participants with eye conditions other than glaucoma visiting the ophthalmology clinics at the same time frame. RESULTS: A total of 256 participants filled out the survey, of which 53.1% were diagnosed with glaucoma while 46.9% had ophthalmic conditions other than glaucoma. Our sample of participants is characterized by a mean age of 52.2 ± 17.8 years and a male-to-female ratio of 1.04:1. Overall, participants with glaucoma were more aware of their disease than participants with other ophthalmic conditions. Compared to their ophthalmic non-glaucoma counterparts, those diagnosed with glaucoma face significantly more daily life difficulties due to their ophthalmic disease (p <0.001). Results of the independent sample t-test demonstrate that participants with glaucoma have significantly higher knowledge scores (p <0.001) and were able to recognize more glaucoma symptoms than their non-glaucoma counterparts (p = 0.002). Similarly, those with a positive family history of glaucoma displayed higher knowledge (p = 0.005). Multivariate linear regression demonstrates that family history of glaucoma, higher symptom recognition score, reliance on ophthalmologists, and the internet for glaucoma-related information are positive predictors of higher knowledge scores. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated that both glaucoma and non-glaucoma ophthalmic patients display average levels of glaucoma knowledge. Raising awareness through various interventions may improve the lifestyles of patients with glaucoma and alleviate the economic burden associated with treating the disease.

Perceived barriers towards the importance and application of medical research: a source of gender disparity among medical undergraduates.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about gender disparity among medical undergraduates in the developing world. Therefore, this study aims to explore the attitudes and perceived barriers among Jordanian medical students, particularly women. METHODS: An online, self-administered questionnaire, developed after an extensive literature review, was disseminated across all six Jordanian medical schools targeting more than 5000 medical students. Student t-test and ANOVA were used to document mean differences among different groups. Linear and logistic regression models were used to find predictors of publication and number of publications. RESULTS: A total of 636 students participated in the survey with a women to men ratio of 1.1. Women medical students report significantly higher knowledge (t(634) = 2.47, p = 0.013), personal (t(634) = 3.31, p = 0.001), and total barriers scores than men (t(634) = 3.02, p = 0.003). Moreover, compared to men, women were less likely to find same-sex mentorship (t(634) = 3.18, p = 0.001) or receive credited authorship (t(634) = 2.12, p = 0.011). Overall, women medical students were more likely to perceive that their gender (t(634) = 3.58, p < 0.001) and people's perception of their gender (t(634) = 4.25, p < 0.001) are barriers to their career advancement. Binary logistic regression demonstrated that gender is a significant predictor of being able to publish (OR: 1.645; 95%CI: 1.002-2.731), while linear regression demonstrated that gender is a predictor of number of publications (ß: 0.113; 95%CI: 0.063-0.288). CONCLUSION: A significant gender disparity exists in terms of both attitudes and overall barriers among Jordanian medical undergraduates which calls for immediate policy changes as to produce successful clinicians and researchers.