State of well-being among residents in a tertiary center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Medical residency is a part of postgraduate medical education and involves clinical training in a selected specialty. It is a challenging step in a physician's professional development. This study aims to estimate the impact of the residency training program and demographic factors on the trainee's state of well-being (SOW). METHODS: This was an observational cross-sectional study carried out in the year 2019-2020, which aimed to measure the SOW of residents undergoing clinical training in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 260 residents participated in the study. A self-administered validated online the World Health Organization, Quality of Life Scale questionnaire- BREF was distributed to collect the data. The collected information on four different domains was analysed and compared across the baseline characteristics and different specialties. When appropriate, the independent sample t-test, bivariate correlation analysis, and ANOVA tests were used. RESULTS: A total of 260 resident responses were included in the final analysis The results revealed a significant difference in physical health scores (p = 0.006), social relationship scores (p = 0.038), and environmental scores (p < 0.001) while no significant difference was found in psychological health scores among the physicians' specialties (p = 0.053). Post hoc comparison found statistically significant variations in the physical health domain between the medical and emergency specialties (p = 0.007), as well as surgical and emergency specialties (p = 0.024). There was also a significant difference between medical and emergency specialties (p = 0.008) in the social relationship domain. In the environment domain, significant variation was reported between medical specialties and emergency specialties (p = 0.001), as well asbetween surgical specialties and emergency specialties (p = 0.045). Female residents reported significantly lower quality of life in the physical (p = 0.020) and psychological (p = 0.032) domains. CONCLUSIONS: A significant relationship was found between physical, social, and environmental domains according to residents' specialties. The factors that affected one or more domains included age, female gender, marital status, disease status, the number of on-calls received, and workload. We emphasize the importance of implementing policies to regulate working hours and on-call schedules as well as prioritizing mental health support.

The quality of life of parents of children with down syndrome in a tertiary care hospital: A qualitative research study at Saudi Arabia.

Background: As children with down syndrome (DS) usually have significant morbidities, they can also represent a significant burden on their caregivers and impact their quality of life (QoL). We conducted this study to investigate whether or not having DS children can impact the different domains of the QoL of their caregivers in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional phenomenological qualitative research study that was conducted in a tertiary care hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. To assess the study outcomes, we used the WHOQOL-BREF to assess the different domains of the QoL. Results: We have included 261 caregivers to DS children that responded to our questionnaire. The mean (SD) scores for the WHOQOL-BREF domains were 84 (±15), 88 (±15), 41 (±10), and 105 (±24), including the physical, psychological, social relations, and environmental domains, respectively. There was a significant difference between all of the scores that have been reported for these domains (P-value <0.001). Furthermore, educational level and the number of children were significantly associated with the psychological and physical domains, while the number of children was the only significant variable with the social relation. Finally, educational level, number of children, and average monthly income were all significantly correlated with the environmental domain. Conclusion: Our study indicates that the QoL of caregivers to DS children is significantly impacted in the different domains, indicating the urgent need to apply adequate interventions.

Parents' Beliefs and Behaviors About Their Children's Literacy Development: A Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia.

Background: A home environment that promotes learning is a significant factor in school performance in which children's parents are involved in their education. However, little study has focused on parents' reading-related beliefs or the relationship between parents' literacy beliefs and behaviors. Methods: This cross-sectional study describes the range of parents' reported literacy beliefs and behaviors and examines whether an association exists in Saudi Arabia. It was conducted on a convenient sample of 100 parents using a web-based self-administrated shared with families in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics clinics at multiple sites utilizing the Parents' Perceptions of Literacy Learning Interview Schedule (PPLLIS). Results: There were 83 mothers and 17 fathers; 90% had a university degree or higher. Parents' beliefs ranged between 87 and 123, with a mean of 103.54 ± 8.05, indicating more holistic perceptions than skills-based ones. There was only a positive significant correlation between parents' beliefs and behaviors regarding literacy activities. However, those participating in literacy activities with their kids were more holistic parents and scored the top one-third on the PPLLIS. Conclusion: Parents' beliefs and their reported behaviors are found to be significantly impacted by their educational levels. Therefore, future investigations and national campaigns are encouraged to improve parents' educational levels, especially in urban areas.