Prevalence of Postpartum Depression among Mothers in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common mental health condition that affects women in a silent and covert way and is not clearly visible to the community or to health care providers. Untreated PPD has significant and long-term consequences on the mother and their child. This study aims to assess the risk of postpartum depression among women in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and its determinants. METHOD: This is a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted at primary healthcare centers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The target population is women visiting the well-child vaccination clinics for their infants' vaccination. The questionnaire used consisted of socio-demographic characteristics, important histories such as obstetric, medical, and social histories, and the Edinburgh Post Partum depression scale EPPS. EPPS is a validated tool used to evaluate the probability of postpartum depression. RESULTS: The probability of postpartum depression for women visiting the well child care clinics in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi during the study period was 35%, One-third. 10% had high risk, 7% had moderate risk, and 18% had mild risk. Using logistic and linear regression, there was an association identified between postpartum depression risk and the presence of weight concern and employment status OR 5.499(2.618-11.548) and OR 0.483 (0.246-0.951), respectively (P < 0.005). From the total sample, 3.7% responded quite often or sometimes to the question of having the intention to harm themselves. CONCLUSION: EPDS is recommended to be used routinely to screen women in the postnatal period. This high prevalence of risk of postpartum depression in the UAE (One in three women) calls for a well-prepared healthcare system and community. Healthcare providers need to be prepared with better knowledge, practice, and management strategies to care for these women, for early identification and management. Further studies should be undertaken to achieve effective strategies to reduce the incidence of this condition.

Muslim women's physician preference: beyond obstetrics and gynecology.

When Emirati (Muslim) women (n = 218) were asked about their preferred physician (in terms of gender, religion, and nationality) for three personal clinical scenarios, a female was almost exclusively preferred for the gynecological (96.8%) and "stomach" (94.5%) scenarios, while ±46% of the women also preferred a female physician for the facial allergy scenario. Only 17% considered physician gender important for the prepubertal child scenario. Just over half of the women preferred a Muslim physician for personal examinations (vs. 37.6% for the child). Being less educated and having a lower literacy level were significant predictors of preferred physician religion for some personal scenarios, whereas a higher education level was a significant predictor for physician gender not mattering for the facial allergy scenario. Muslim women's preference for same gender physicians, and to a lesser extent religion, has implications for health care services beyond obstetrics and gynecology.

A comparison of protocols for external beam radiotherapy beam calibrations.

A number of codes of practice (CoP) for electron and photon radiotherapy beam dosimetry are currently in use. Comparison is made of the more widely used of these, specifically those of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA TRS-398), the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM TG-51) and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM 2003). All are based on calibration of ionization chambers in terms of absorbed dose to water, each seeking to reduce uncertainty in delivered dose, providing an even stronger system of primary standards than previous air-kerma based approaches. They also provide a firm, traceable and straight-forward formalism (Radiology, 1996). Included in making dose assessments for the three CoP are calibration coefficients for a range of beam quality indices. Measurements have been performed using clinical photon and electron beams, the absorbed dose to water being obtained following the recommendations given by each code. Electron beam comparisons have been carried out using measurements for electron beams of nominal energies 6, 9, 12, 16 and 20 MeV. Comparisons were also carried out for photon beams of nominal energies 6 and 18 MV. For photon beams use was made of NE2571 cylindrical graphite walled ionization chambers, cross-calibrated against an NE2611 Secondary Standard; for electron beams, PTW Markus and NACP-02 plane-parallel chambers were used. Irradiations were made using Varian 600C/2100C linacs, supported by water tanks and Virtual Water™ phantoms. The absorbed doses for photon and electron beams obtained following these CoP are all in good agreement, with deviations of less than 2%. A number of studies have been carried out by different groups in different countries to examine the consistency of dosimetry codes of practice or protocols. The aim of these studies is to confirm that the goal of those codes is met, namely uniformity in establishment of dosimetry of all radiation beam types used in cancer therapy in the world, and this is one of the studies.

Muslim women and medical students in the clinical encounter.

CONTEXT: Increasingly, male medical students report being refused by female patients, particularly in obstetrics and gynaecology, which is impacting on recruitment into the discipline. However, little has been documented in terms of Muslim patients and medical students in the clinical consultation. METHODS: Female Emirati nationals (n = 218) attending out-patient clinics at a public hospital in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), were interviewed by medical students. Participants were provided with four hypothetical clinical scenarios (three personal, one concerning a pre-pubertal child) and asked whether they would allow male and female students to be present at a consultation, take a history or perform an examination. They were also canvassed about their past experiences with medical students and their social responsibility to contribute towards the training of Emirati doctors. RESULTS: Significant differences were recorded in terms of female versus male student involvement for all activities (P < 0.05-0.0005). For gynaecological and abdominal problems, patients would generally refuse male students. More than 50% of interviewees would not allow a male student to examine their face. Students of either gender could, however, examine their 8-year-old child. Although 47% of the women had had previous clinical encounters with students, in only 58% of consultations had the attending doctor asked their permission. Despite this, the women had generally felt comfortable, although satisfaction decreased with increasing age (P = 0.088). Almost 90% of the women believed that Emiratis had a social responsibility to contribute towards the training of Emirati doctors, but this decreased with increasing income (P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: As many medical students will encounter Muslim patients during their training, they need to be sensitive to religious and cultural issues, particularly for personal examinations. In contexts where most patients are Muslim, alternative options (e.g. manikins, international rotations) may be required for male students. In the UAE, patient education may improve history-taking opportunities but will probably not transcend religious and cultural beliefs without intervention from religious leaders.