Global Health Competencies of Undergraduate Nursing Students in Jordan.

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to assess and compare the global health competencies (GHCs) of nursing students in Jordan. GHCs are crucial to ensure the delivery of culturally sensitive care to diverse populations. A cross-sectional survey using the GHC questionnaire was administered to 256 nursing students. Students ranked their ability in health implications of migration, travel, and displacement as the highest domain and health care as a human right and development resources as the lowest. Assessing nursing students' GHCs is important as they pursue their responsibilities toward global health in the future.

The perceived threat of COVID-19 and its impact on hygienic precautionary behaviors: A multi-countries study.

OBJECTIVE(S): To explore the perceived threats of COVID-19 and how it changed the personal hygienic precautionary behaviors across multiple countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to survey the four targeted MENA countries: Jordan, Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. SAMPLE: A nonprobability convenience sampling design was utilized. The link to the survey questionnaire was distributed through social media groups within Facebook® and Twitter® . The groups are known and accessible by known across the general population at the targeted countries. MEASUREMENT: Data was collected using The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire and an adapted instrument that examine the hygienic precautionary behaviors during COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Answers of participants (n = 2604) were valid and included in the study. The results show that a minimal perception of threat among the participants on most of the BIP-Q5 items (M = 12.9, SD = 7.2). Moreover, the highest compliance rates to recommended hygienic precautionary behaviors were found among populations above the age of 50 years (F = 2.89, p = .04), females (t = 5.18, p = .003), being married (F = 3.09, p = .029), and being a health care professional (t = -2.20, p = .028). CONCLUSION: The perceived threat of COVID-19 and compliance rates with the recommended hygienic precautionary behaviors among Arab societies were found to below and need critically urgent attention.

International Nursing: Job Satisfaction Among Critical Care Nurses in a Governmental Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Job satisfaction improves the outcome of health care services. Nurses' job satisfaction should receive more attention in Saudi Arabia, and worldwide. This study was undertaken to measure factors that affect job satisfaction among critical care nurses at King Khalid Hospital in Saudi Arabia. This study used a quantitative, cross-sectional method. A convenient sample of 190 critical care nurses was recruited from the main government hospital in Saudi Arabia. Job satisfaction scales were used in this study. Overall, the staff nurses were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their work. The majority of participating nurses were moderately satisfied with their relationships with coworkers (mean = 4.24, standard deviation [SD] = 1.66) and nature of their jobs (mean = 4.13, SD = 0.74). Their lowest satisfaction scores were related to communication (mean = 3.42, SD = 0.82), followed by pay (mean = 3.7, SD = 0.65), and supervision (mean = 3.75, SD = 0.55). Job satisfaction of staff nurses is marginal. This calls for leadership intervention. Decision-makers must consider this when adopting new policies to enhance nurses' job satisfaction.

Compliance to personal hygiene habits in response to COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the Jordanians' compliance rates in terms of personal hygiene habits in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional design was utilized to collect data from 651 Jordanians via an electronic self-report questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software Results: The overall compliance rate for personal hygiene habits among Jordanians was 79 percent (11.85/15, SD = 9). Personal hygiene practices differ significantly across age groups (F = 2, 89, p = .04), gender (t = 5.18, p = .003), marital status (F = 3.09, p = .029), and being a member of a healthcare specialty (t = -2.20, p = .028). Gender, educational level, occupation, and living place were statistically significant predictors for compliance with personal hygiene habits. Compliance rates increased drastically (82 percent) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: Compliance with personal hygiene habits among Jordanians was encouraging in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, there is a chance for more improvement to reach optimum levels of safe and healthy per-sonal hygiene habits. Healthcare authorities shall adopt change management programs and theories to target personal hygiene habits where opportunities for improvement are found.

Smoking-Related Disease Impact in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: A Comprehensive Assessment Using Global Burden of Disease Data.

BACKGROUND: Smoking remains a significant risk factor for numerous health issues, including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and respiratory infections. This study investigates the burden of tobacco-related diseases in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. METHODS: Utilizing the GBD data, we examined the risk of smoking and second-hand smoke exposure and their related causes of death and disability in the 22 MENA countries. Smoking prevalence and disease burden data were analyzed with estimates reported as age-standardized rates. RESULTS: Tobacco abuse accounted for 14.5% of all deaths and 23.2% of deaths tied to known risk factors, with an age-standardized death rate of 110.8 per 100,000. Cardiovascular diseases were the primary cause of smoking-related deaths and DALYs, representing 53.4% of all deaths and 50.3% of all DALYs. This was followed by neoplasms (24.6% of all deaths and 20.3% of all DALYs), chronic respiratory diseases(12.4% of all deaths and 11.9% of all DALYs), and respiratory infections and tuberculosis(4% of all deaths and 3.4% of all DALYs). Second-hand smoking caused 20.5% of tobacco-related deaths and 21.5% of tobacco-related DALYs, disproportionately affecting younger individuals. An increasing disease burden was observed in Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Libya, and declining rates were most evident in Oman and Qatar. CONCLUSION: Our study emphasizes the impact of smoking on cardiovascular disease, the primary cause of smoking-related mortality and morbidity in the MENA region. Our findings highlight the urgent need for effective tobacco control policies and interventions.

Impact of an Interventional Program on Improving Compliance of Hand Hygiene and Reducing Hospital-Acquired Infection in the Critical Care Unit.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to determine the effect of a hand hygiene (HH) and awareness campaign on knowledge and compliance with HH practices among health-care workers working staff in the main intensive care units and also to evaluate the rates of hospital-acquired infection (HAI) before and after the intervention. METHODS: A prospective, interventional, pre-post design was utilized and carried out in three phases: the first stage was a 1-month preintervention stage to develop the foundation of the compliance rate of handwashing; the second stage was the interventional handwashing campaign; the third stage was the postintervention stage to improve the compliance rate of handwashing. Two instruments were used in this study: the HH Knowledge Questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization to assess HH knowledge and the Handwashing Questionnaire developed to evaluate HH washing. RESULTS: HH knowledge has been increased from preintervention (M = 11.84, standard deviation [SD] = 2.41) to postintervention (M = 18.80, SD = 2.93), and the effective compliance with HH practice was as low as 49% in June 2017 to 75% in February 2018. In addition, the HAI rate was dropped from 13.2% in June 2017 to 9% in February 2018. An inverse association was recognized between HH compliance and HAI rates. CONCLUSIONS: These results recommend that reasonable approaches can decrease the HAI rate of intensive care units. A nationwide handwashing interventional program can be employed in all hospitals.

Effect of addition of distraction to cryotherapy on arteriovenous cannulation-associated pain: A randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Pain associated with the arteriovenous fistula needle is considered one of the major challenges faced by nurses and patients. This study evaluates the effectiveness of using two different approaches in combination to alleviate pain associated with arteriovenous fistula needle cannulation, and patients' satisfaction level with this method. METHODS: A randomized clinical trial was conducted on hemodialysis patients who were allocated to one to two groups: intervention (distraction plus cryotherapy) (n = 25) or control group (receiving cryotherapy alone) (n = 25). The pain level was assessed before and at the end of applying cryotherapy and distraction techniques. Patients' satisfaction level was assessed at the end of the trial. FINDINGS: After the application of cryotherapy and distraction techniques for the intervention group, the mean value of pain level was 2.12 (0.9) compared with 3.92 (0.16) for the control group. Independent t tests showed a significant difference between groups regarding the pain level with p value less than 0.05. The mean satisfaction level for the participants receiving only cryotherapy was 4.6 out of 10, compared with 5.9 for the patients who received cryotherapy and distraction techniques. DISCUSSION: The findings revealed that using two different approaches in combination to control pain associated with AV fistula cannulation was more effective than using a single strategy. The technique can be used in clinical settings to reduce pain and improve patients' satisfaction level.

Integrating evidence-based interventions in clinical settings in Jordan: a policy brief.

Background: Evidence-based nursing practice (EBNP) is considered a major and very important global paradigm shift. Unfortunately, most healthcare providers and researchers embrace the concept of evidence-based practice (EBP) without integrating this concept in clinical settings. The current situation of EBP and new practice guidelines utilization in Jordan are scarce. This policy brief aimed to discusses the process of utilizing nursing EBP in clinical settings in Jordan. Methods: The authors adopted an action plan utilizing a systematic approach to develop and implement specific strategies and policies to integrate EBP in clinical settings in Jordanian hospitals. We present an experience of one country in terms of introducing a policy brief to establish an EBP policy accompanied by developing an EBP unit in the hospital's country. Results: A comprehensive description of this policy is provided with reference to the eminent steps of policy analysis and evaluation. In fact, EBP policies and clinical practice guidelines should keep a live document and revise regularly or as needed. Overall, the authors suggest the development of a unit for EBP to deal with issues related to clinical practice guidelines. Conclusions: Expected outcomes for the introduction of the EBP unit and its policy include increase research utilization and accelerated adoption of new evidence, increase the quality of care provided, increase patient, staff, and managers satisfaction, and decrease staff workload by reducing complications associated with medical errors and outdated interventions.

Management Strategies for Pain Associated with Arteriovenous Fistula Cannulation: An Integrative Literature Review.

Patients on maintenance hemodialysis are subjected to mild-to-moderate pain associated with arteriovenous fistula needle insertion. This pain might adversely affect patient compliance with dialysis and quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate published research studies on management strategies for pain associated with fistula needle insertion. A review of 35 studies from well-known databases such as CINAHL, ProQuest, and PubMed was conducted. Three strategies of cannulation pain management were found to have been tried: specific cannulation techniques; use of alternative complementary therapies; and use of local anesthetic agents.

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity among Tabuk Citizens in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is considered as the main cause of death worldwide. Identifying the links among CVDs risk factors can help decrease CVD-related deaths. AIM: To assess the prevalence of risk factors for CVD and their relationships among the Tabuk City population in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used; 432 participants in the Tabuk region were included in this study. RESULTS: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) was 5.6%, the prevalence of hypertension (HTN) was 11.1% and obesity and overweight together were 69.9%. Mean Body Mass Index (BMI), HTN, and DM increased with age. There was a correlation between BMI with HTN (r=.200, p<.001), BMI and DM (r=.149, p<.001) and DM and HTN (r=.366, p<.001). CONCLUSION: Public awareness may help in reducing the prevalence of CVD.

Beliefs and Behavior of Saudi Women in the University of Tabuk Toward Breast Self Examination Practice

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most frequent types of malignancy worldwide, Breast Self Exam (BSE) is considered as a simple method to screen and detect breast cancer, then early beginning of treatment and enhancing survival rates. Aim: To Identify the health beliefs about breast Self-Examination and its relationships with the frequency of BSE among the women in the University of Tabuk at Saudi Arabia. Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional correlational design was used; Champion Health Beliefs Model (CHBM) was utilized to assess health beliefs among 400 women who answered a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Among the 400 respondents, almost all the sample (382,95.5%) heard about BSE. However, only (7.8%) practiced BSE regularly each month in the past year, and (9%) is intended to perform BSE monthly in future. There was a positive relationship between performing BSE last year and the beliefs of susceptibility and confidence. While, intention to perform BSE in the future was significantly correlated to seriousness and confidence. Perceived barriers were negatively related to BSE performance in last 12 months and in future. Conclusion: Health beliefs affect the behavior of women in practicing BSE. Confidence was related positively to BSE in past year, and future practice, while barriers belief was as the negative factor to perform BSE.