The emotional and social concerns of mothers of children with cleft palate: A cross-sectional study.

PROBLEM: Among birth defects, a cleft palate is one of the most common defects globally, with a prevalence rate of 1 in 700 live-born children per annum. Caring for a child with cleft palate is considered a challenge for mothers who provide around clock care for these children. Despite this, there is limited knowledge of their experiences and needs particularly in low resource settings. BACKGROUND: Previous literature emphasized that mothers of children with cleft palate face many challenges involving emotional distress, social isolation, and financial burden. QUESTION: To investigate the emotional and social concerns of mothers of children with Cleft Palate compared to mothers of children without cleft palate. METHODS: A comparative study design was conducted at the Jordanian Royal Medical Services using convenience sample of 312 mothers of children with and without cleft palate in Jordan. FINDINGS: There was a significant difference in the presence of anxious feelings between mothers of children with cleft palate and those mothers without cleft palate children. Within group comparison for mothers of children with cleft palate has shown a significant difference in their social concerns with regards to social support and child's future. DISCUSSION: Mothers of children with cleft palate reported significantly higher levels of sadness feelings. These emotions could be attributed to several factors, including the financial burden associated with medical treatment and interventions, the burden of caring for a child with special needs, the social stigma related to the child's appearance, the lack of public awareness, and the insufficient social support services. CONCLUSION: Mothers of children with Cleft Palate experience a considerable amount of emotional and social concerns which require urgent interventions.

Patient satisfaction with primary health care services and primary health care providers.

AIM: To evaluate patients' satisfaction levels with primary healthcare services and providers in Jordan and assess differences in patients' satisfaction in relation to sociodemographic factors and accessibility to primary healthcare. DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used in this study. SAMPLING: A convenient sampling technique was utilized. MEASURES: A 34-item survey instrument was adopted and distributed to patients in nine primary healthcare centers in Amman in the period between October and December 2022. RESULTS: A total of 225 patients completed the survey. The mean total score for patient satisfaction with primary healthcare services was 25.22 (SD = 4.13). There were significant differences in satisfaction with services in terms of educational level, visitation reason, mode of transportation, availability of parking, and suitably designed for patients with disabilities. Furthermore, the mean total score for patient satisfaction with primary healthcare providers was 22.85 (SD = 5.86). There were significant differences in relation to visitation reason, mode of transportation, and parking space availability. CONCLUSION: It is important to improve patient satisfaction in primary healthcare facilities, and the Ministry of Health should implement policies for improving the quality of services provided by primary healthcare.

Girl child marriage and the social context of displacement: a qualitative comparative exploration of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: There is growing global evidence that girl child marriage (CM) increases during humanitarian crises. Norms, attitudes, and policies that sustain CM are deeply entrenched within families and communities, and may be further exacerbated by conflict and displacement. The purpose of this study is to understand how the social and normative environment influences attitudes and practices related to CM in two diverse humanitarian settings. METHODS: We held a total of eight focus group discussions, four in each country, with Syrian refugees in Jordan and Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh. FGDs were conducted with fathers, mothers, and adolescent boys and girls. RESULTS: Similar themes emerged from both settings. Participants discussed a desire to hold onto tradition in displacement and how norms are reinforced across generations. Social influence emerged in positive and negative ways, including peer pressure and conformity and the positive influence of host communities. In both settings, girls themselves described having little agency. Participants described resistance to change, which was exacerbated by conflict and displacement, though they discussed how social influence could be an effective way to challenge existing norms that drive the practice of girl child marriage. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings represent a more robust understanding of how norms operate within the social ecological system, and how they are reinforced across social relationships, offering an opportunity to more effectively challenge norms that sustain the practice of girl child marriage.

Nurses' perceptions of hourly rounding in Jordanian hospitals: A national survey.

AIM: This study aims to explore nurses' perceptions of hourly rounding in Jordanian hospitals. BACKGROUND: Hourly rounding is a standardized and systematic process conducted by nurses to anticipate and address needs in hospitalized patients. The evidence on hourly rounding is mixed, and research is needed to affirm the benefits of implementing hourly rounding across different contexts. METHOD: A cross-sectional correlational design was used. A convenient sample of 1378 nurses was recruited from one military hospital, two university-affiliated hospitals, four governmental hospitals and four private hospitals in Jordan. The Hourly Rounding Questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, t test, one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The highest agreements between nurses were on the items related to the implementation of hourly rounding in terms of 'preventing patient falls' 1211 (87.9%), 'preventing hospital-acquired pressure ulcers' 1201 (87.2%) and 'addressing patients' position' 1199 (87%). The lowest agreements between nurses were on the items related to the involvement of nurses in the decision-making process and sense of ownership 268 (19.4%) and the availability of continued support and resources 239 (17.3%). Female nurses, nurses who often work on a shift rotation, nurses working in private hospitals and respiratory units had a positive perception of hourly rounding. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Findings will inform nursing leaders and policy developers about the implementation of hourly rounding from nurses' perspectives. A protocol should accompany hourly rounding for robust evaluation to measure the impact of this process change with the involvement of nurses in the decision-making process.

Barriers and enablers of intensive care unit nurses' assessment and management of patients' pain.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate pain assessment and management is a problem in hospitalized patients that impairs their well-being. Intensive care unit nurses' pain practices are affected by several barriers and enablers. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore intensive care unit nurses' pain education, perceived barriers, and enablers of pain assessment and management practices among critically ill patients. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used in the study. METHODS: Convenience sampling technique was used, including 300 nurses recruited from 22 intensive care units in Jordan. The Pain Assessment and Management for Critically Ill Adults Survey was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, spearman correlation, and chi-square tests were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Only 127 (42.3%) of the nurses reported moderate to extreme satisfaction about receiving professional development education related to pain among critically ill patients. Nurse workload (65.3%), patient instability (54.4%), patient inability to communicate (53.3%), and sedation interfering with pain assessment (50%) were reported by nurses as the most frequent barriers impacting pain assessment and management. Enablers of pain assessment and management reported most frequently were "pain assessment and management is a unit priority" (63.7%), "enthusiastic and motivated staff" (61.3%), "protocols and guidelines are in use" (57.4%), and "standardized assessment tools are in use" (57%). Some barriers and enablers to pain assessment and management and pain education differed significantly according to nurses' experience and hospital type. CONCLUSION: This study identified a range of enablers and barriers to pain assessment and management practices perceived by intensive care unit nurses. Nurse workload was an important barrier while making pain assessments, and management a unit priority was an important enabler for pain assessment and management. Frequent assessment of barriers and enablers of pain assessment and management is needed in critical care units to improve nurses' practices. Pain education should be included in the hospitals' continuous educational program.

Prevalence and differences in habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, and using sleep medication: a national study of university students in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: Sleep quality has a significant impact on the physical and mental health of the young population. STUDY AIM: To evaluate sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, and use of sleep medication among university students in Jordan and to examine differences in these problems in relation to selected demographic and health-risk behaviors. METHODS: The study used a cross-sectional design and a multi-stage sampling technique. Three public universities were randomly selected from three major governorates in Jordan. The Arabic version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to measure sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, and the use of sleep medication. Descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Of 1308 students who participated in the study, 27% reported sleep efficiency less than 85%, 45% of the students reported nocturnal awakening, 30% reported getting up to use the bathroom, and 9% reported using medication to help sleep. Differences in sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, and use of sleep medication were found in relation to students' gender, income, marital status, smoking status, and academic achievement. CONCLUSIONS: Poor sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, and the use of sleep medications are significant problems affecting sleep quality among university students. Students' gender, marital status, income, smoking status, and academic achievement are important factors associated with sleep quality. IMPLICATIONS: Sleep screening among university students is required to identify and provide treatment for sleep problems. Furthermore, educating university students about the effects of smoking on health in general and on sleep in particular should be mandated.

Sleep quality, sleep latency, and sleep duration: a national comparative study of university students in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: Sleep problems have significant negative health consequences on university students. STUDY AIM: To assess subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, and sleep duration in a national sample of university students and investigate differences in these components with selected variables. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis and multi-stage sampling were conducted to select a sample of 1308 students from three major areas in Jordan. Sleep quality, sleep latency, and sleep duration were measured by an Arabic version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data were analyzed using measures of frequency and central tendency and Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS: Two-thirds of university students described their sleep quality as fairly bad and very bad and 20 reported sleep latency of more than 30 min during the past month. There was a significant difference in subjective sleep quality according to the student's place of residence. Sleep latency differed according to students' income, physical activity, use of media devices before sleep, smoking status, and academic achievement. Significant differences were also found in sleep duration with students' academic achievement, academic level, and body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: University students suffer from poor sleep quality, delayed sleep phase, and sleep deprivation. Lower-income, smoking, physical inactivity, and using media devices before sleep contributed to students' sleeping problems. IMPLICATIONS: Interventional programs that focus on improving physical activity, controlling tobacco use, healthy sleep education, and reducing screen time are essential public health interventions to reduce sleep problems among youth.

Health care professionals' attitudes towards youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services in Jordan: a cross-sectional study of physicians, midwives and nurses.

BACKGROUND: Youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services are thought to make such services for adolescents more accessible and acceptable; however, provider attitudes may still present an important barrier. Improving youth SRH service utilization has been recognized as a national priority in Jordan; however, existing services remain underutilized. Previous studies found that youth perceive SRH services to be inadequate and that providers are not supportive of their needs. The purpose of this study is measure provider attitudes towards youth-friendly SRH services and explore their variation according to individual characteristics among health care professionals in Jordan. METHODS: We measured provider attitudes towards youth-friendly SRH services using a scale that was developed and validated in Jordan. The scale consists of three subscales: (1) Attitudes towards SRH information and services offered to youth, (2) Norms and personal beliefs, and (3) Attitudes towards the policy and clinical environment. Possible scores range between 1 and 4, with higher scores reflecting more youth-friendly attitudes. Physicians, midwives and nurses working at either primary health centers, comprehensive care centers, or women's and children's health centers where services to adolescents are or should be offered were recruited from four governorates in Jordan using a two-stage, cluster sampling scheme. Differences in attitudes were assessed using simple and multivariable linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 510 providers from four governorates in Jordan. The mean provider score on the full scale was 2.7, with a range of 2.0 to 3.8. On Subscales 1 and 2, physicians exhibited significantly more youth-friendly attitudes than nurses by scoring 0.17 points higher than nurses on Subscale 1 (95% CI: 0.02-0.32; p < 0.05) in adjusted analyses. Providers who had been previously trained in SRH issues scored 0.10 points higher (95% CI: 0.00-0.20; p < 0.05) than those who had not on Subscale 3. No differences were found according to provider characteristics on Subscale 2. Providers exhibited the lowest scores related to items referencing youth sexual behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Provider attitudes towards youth-friendly SRH service delivery highlight context-specific, cultural concerns. The limited variation in attitudes related to norms and personal beliefs may be a reflection that such beliefs are deeply held across Jordanian society. Last, as past training on SRH was significantly associated with higher scores, our results suggest opportunity for intervention to improve providers' confidence and knowledge.

Making sexual and reproductive (SRH) services easier for youth to access, organizing service delivery in a way that meets youth's needs, and supporting health care professionals to interact with youth in a friendly manner can make SRH services more youth-friendly. If SRH services are more youth-friendly, more youth may use them. In Jordan, steps have been taken to make SRH services more youth-friendly, but youth still do not believe that providers are supportive of their needs. This study aims to measure physician's, nurse's, and midwives' attitudes towards youth-friendly SRH services in Jordan. We also look at whether certain individual characteristics, such as age, type of service provider, etc. are related to provider attitudes We used a scale that tested in Jordan to measure provider attitudes. The scale focuses on three domains: (1) Attitudes towards SRH information and services offered to youth, (2) Norms and personal beliefs, and (3) Attitudes towards the policy and clinical environment. Possible scores range between 1 and 4, with higher scores reflecting more youth-friendly attitudes. Our sample includes 510 health care providers from four regions in Jordan. We used descriptive statistics and regression analysis to conduct our analysis. Our results show that physicians had more supportive attitudes than nurses or midwives on Subscales 1 and 3. Providers who reported having been trained in SRH issues in the past had higher scores on Subscale 3. No individual characteristics were related to Subscale 2. We find that in Jordan, provider attitudes may reflect deeply rooted cultural norms.

Predictors of job satisfaction of registered nurses providing care for older adults.

BACKGROUND: The population worldwide is ageing. This has required the nursing profession to respond to the growing demands of providing nursing care to this population. PURPOSE: To identify predictors of job satisfaction among registered nurses providing care for older adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional correlational design was used with a convenience sample of nurses. The Quality Work Competence Questionnaire, Job Satisfaction Scale and Nurses' Occupational Stress Scale were used to measure study variables. Descriptive statistics and multiple regressions were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The study included 500 nurses; and 68% dissatisfied with their job. Nurses were mostly dissatisfied with the physical conditions in which they work (55.2%) and the rate of payment (50.2%). Physical strain demonstrated the highest positive correlation with nurses' satisfaction (r = .36). More years of experience, skills and employee development, high nurses' competence, and more physical strain predicted high job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Job dissatisfaction among nurses providing care for older adults is high and is influenced by nurses' experience, professional development, competency and physical strain. IMPLICATIONS: Health care organisations should apply strategies that enhance the development of the professional competency of their nursing staff.

Perceptions of Health and Illness: A Qualitative Study of Jordanian Mothers.

PURPOSE: To explore: 1) the perceptions of Jordanian mothers of their children's health and illness; and 2) the strategies of Jordanian mothers regarding disease prevention and health promotion. DESIGN AND METHODS: A qualitative descriptive design was used to select a sample of Jordanian mothers (n = 20) of children aged 6 to12 years. Semi-structured interviews generated data to which thematic analysis was applied. RESULTS: Four central themes emerged for Jordanian mothers' perceptions of their children's health and illness: physical, functional, wellbeing, and coping. Mothers used a variety of biomedical and psychosocial strategies for health promotion and disease prevention for their children. CONCLUSION: Jordanian mothers' perceptions of health and illness were multidimensional. Mothers used positive strategies to prevent disease and promote the health of their children. The mothers overlooked some important aspects related to promoting children's health, such as minimizing the harm from tobacco and the importance of regular dental checkups. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Community or school-based health programs that target both children and their parents are needed to address the effect of smoking on children's health, highlight the importance of oral hygiene and regular dental checkups, and emphasize the role of exercise and healthy nutrition on children's health.

Perceived barriers to healthcare utilization among Jordanian families: A family centered approach.

AIM: This study aimed to understand the barriers to health services utilization by Jordanian families. BACKGROUND: Access to quality healthcare services is a significant issue facing healthcare systems. Healthcare systems must identify and apply measures to overcome barriers that face utilizing health services and thus increase clients' satisfaction. METHODS: A cross-sectional qualitative research design was used in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-five families to elicit the model of health services barriers. RESULTS: The analysis of the family interviews led to four main themes related to health services barriers: service system, structural/physical barriers, equipment and medication, and staff competency. This study would increase awareness about underserved populations that avoid seeking medical care. CONCLUSION: Public health efforts are required to increase awareness about the importance of contacting the healthcare system as early as possible. However, public health policy may require developing new initiatives that reduce these perceived barriers, such as enhancing communication skills among healthcare workers, increasing supervision and inspection of healthcare quality, and enhancing patient engagement by using phone calls and messages as appointment reminders and careful follow-up.

Predictors of quality of care provided for older adults.

BACKGROUND: The work conditions in which the nurses provide care for older adults affect the quality of care. STUDY AIM: (a) To describe the quality of care for older adults as perceived by the nurse; (b) to examine the relationship between occupational stress, work climate, employee development and quality of care for older people; and (c) to determine the predictors of quality of care provided for older adults. METHODS: A descriptive correlational design was used in this study. A multi-strategic sampling technique was used to recruit a sample of 500 nurses providing care for older adults in hospitals and health care centres. RESULTS: Almost 80% of the participating nurses reported that their workplace was insufficiently staffed. Quality of care was significantly associated with occupational stress, nurses' competence and employee development. Significant predictors of quality of care were occupational stress, work climate and employee development. CONCLUSION: Enhancing nurses' work climate, decreasing occupational stress and increasing chances for employee development would improve the quality of care provided for older adults. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Health institutions have the opportunity to implement work environment improvements that increase support for advancing staff knowledge and skills by providing additional support for continuing education regarding the care of older adults.

Social and Health Determinants of Adolescents' Wellbeing in Jordan: Implications for Policy and Practice.

PURPOSE: This study examined the extent to which health related aspect, health outcome, behaviour outcomes and social connectedness may predict adolescents' wellbeing at the schools of Jordan. METHODS: Using a two-stage cluster sampling technique 1166 adolescents completed the Health Behaviour of School Children survey. RESULTS: Stepwise Regression Analysis showed that the adolescents' wellbeing was predicted by academic achievements, bullying behaviour, eating habits, psycho-somatization, parent support and ease of communication with parents. These predictors explained 40% of the variance in the emotional wellbeing scores. CONCLUSION AND PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study provides baseline information to build the evidence base for surveillance of health behaviors among adolescents in Jordan. Students' experiences of secondary school and their relationships at school continue to predict their emotional wellbeing.

Factors Affecting Jordanian School Adolescents' Experience of Being Bullied.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the Jordanian school adolescents' experience of being bullied, and to examine its association with selected socio-demographic variables. DESIGN AND METHODS: This cross sectional descriptive study used multi-stages cluster sampling technique to recruit a sample of in-school adolescents in Jordan (N=436). The Personal Experiences Checklist was used to measure the experience of bullying. Descriptive statistics and parametric tests were used in the analysis. RESULTS: Relational-verbal bullying was the most common form of bullying while cyber bullying was the least common type. Male adolescents experienced bullying more than females. In addition, adolescents belonging to low-income families experienced bullying more than those from moderate-income families. Finally, being bullied was negatively correlated with academic performance of students. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that risk factors for bullying are multifaceted which necessitate the development of prevention and intervention strategies to combat bullying taking into consideration these factors. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Schools should introduce environmental changes to discourage bullying and establish a policy with specific guidelines of what constitutes bullying behavior and expected disciplinary procedures. Staff training on information about the definition of bullying, current trends, and the effects of bullying is also recommended.

The effectiveness of age-appropriate pre-operative information session on the anxiety level of school-age children undergoing elective surgery in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: Undergoing surgery is an anxious experience for children. Applying anxiety reduction age-appropriate programs by nurses would be beneficial in reducing anxiety to children. AIM: To test the effectiveness of age-appropriate preoperative information session in reducing anxiety levels of school-age children undergoing elective surgery in Jordan. DESIGN: The study used a quasi-experimental design. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-six children were recruited from an educational hospital in Amman from January to June 2012 and were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The anxiety levels of children were assessed using the State Anxiety Scale for children, and children's levels of cooperation after surgery were assessed using Children Emotional Manifestation Scale. The heart rate and blood pressure of children were also measured 1 hour before going to operation room. RESULTS: The study results revealed that children in the intervention group reported lower anxiety levels and more cooperation than children in the control group. Also, they displayed lower heart rate and blood pressure than children in the control group. CONCLUSION: The application of age-appropriate preoperative intervention for children could be beneficial in decreasing anxiety levels and increasing their cooperation post surgery.

Effectiveness of a 12-week school-based educational preventive programme on weight and fasting blood glucose in "at-risk" adolescents of type 2 diabetes mellitus: Randomized controlled trial.

To assess the effectiveness of a 12-week school-based educational preventive programme for type 2 diabetes by change in weight and fasting blood glucose level in Jordanian adolescents. Sixteen percent of Jordanian adults have obesity-related type 2 diabetes and 5.6% of obese adolescents examined, however one-third unexamined. Rates in Arabic countries will double in 20 years, but this can be prevented and reversed by controlling obesity. A single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2 unisex high schools in Irbid, Jordan, in 2012. Intervention and control participants, aged 12 to 18 years, were visibly overweight/obese. They were randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 205) or control (n = 196) groups. At-risk students were assessed before and after the 12-week intervention, for change in weight and fasting blood glucose level following preventive instruction and parent-supported changes. Mean age of participants was 15.3 years with equal percentages of both males (49.4%) and females. Post intervention, the intervention group, demonstrated statistically significant reductions: mean difference of 3.3 kg in weight (P < .000) and 1.36 mg/dL (0.075 mmol/L) in fasting blood glucose (P < .000). School-based early prevention intervention effectively reduced weight and fasting blood glucose in Jordanian at-risk adolescents.

Risk factors of keloids in Syrians.

BACKGROUND: Keloid is a benign fibrous growth, which presents in scar tissue of predisposed individuals. It is a result of irregular wound healing, but the exact mechanism is unknown. However, several factors may play a role in keloid formation. To date, there are no studies of keloids in Syria, and limited studies on Caucasians, so we have investigated the risk factors of keloids in Syrians (Caucasians), and this is the main objective of this study. METHODS: Diagnosis of keloids was clinically made after an interview and physical examination. We did a histopathological study in case the physical examination was unclear. The following information was taken for each patient; sex, Blood groups (ABO\Rh), cause of scarring, anatomical sites, age of onset, number of injured sites (single\multiple) and family history. RESULTS: We have studied the clinical characteristics of 259 patients with keloids,130 (50.2 %) females and 129 (49.8 %) males. There were 209 (80.7 %) patients with keloids in a single anatomical site compared to 50 (19.3 %) patients with 130 keloids in multiple anatomical sites, 253 (97.68 %) patients with keloids caused by a single cause for each patient compared to 6 (2.32 %) patients with keloids caused by two different causes for each patient. Keloids could follow any form of skin injury, but burn was the most common (28.68 %). Also, keloids could develop at any anatomical sites, but upper limb (20 %) followed by sternum (19.17 %) was the most common. Over half of the patients developed keloids in the 11-30 age range. 19.3 % (50/259) of patients had family history, 76 % (38/50) of them had keloids located in the same anatomical sites of relative, also, 66 % (33\50) of them had keloids caused by the same cause. The following information was found to be statistically significant; people with blood group A (p = 0.01) compared with other blood groups, spontaneous keloids in patients with blood group A (p = 0.01), acne in males (p = 0.0008) compared to females, acne in someone who has a previous acne keloid (p = 0.0002), burn in someone who has a previous burn keloid (p = 0.029), family history, especially for spontaneous (p = 0.005), presternal (p = 0.039) and shoulder (p = 0.008) keloids, people in second and third decades (p = 0.02) (p = 0.01) respectively. CONCLUSION: Age of onset, sex, cause of scarring, blood groups, anatomical site, presence of family history and the number of site (multiple\single) were significant in keloid formation in Syrians.

Differences in Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Relation to Changes in Living Conditions, Work Conditions, and Daily Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Jordan.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with numerous changes in daily life conditions that could affect the psychological response of individuals worldwide. Objective: The study aimed to describe and examine differences in depression, anxiety, and stress in relation to living conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. Purposive snowball sampling was employed to include 642 participants. Arabic versions of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation were used to analyze the data. Results: The total mean scores of depression, anxiety, and stress were 12.26 (SD = 10.53), 9.04 (SD = 9.34), and 13.49 (SD = 10.72), respectively. Of the study sample, 122 (19.5%), 139 (22.2%), and 99 (15.9%) had severe to extremely severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. Significant differences were found in depression, anxiety, and stress in relation to age, chronic diseases, and house size. Conclusion: The findings showed an increased prevalence of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health practitioners need to recognize the impact of pandemics on youth, females, low-income populations, and individuals with chronic diseases. Preventive mental health services among these populations, such as screening and counseling, would help reduce the health risks.

Importance of preemptive analgesia and pain assessment as perceived by intensive care unit nurses.

Background: The importance and efficacy of Preemptive analgesia in reducing pain for patients undergoing painful procedures still debatable and seldom investigated. The aim of this study was to describe intensive care nurses' perception of the importance of pain assessment and Preemptive analgesia prior painful procedures in critical care settings in Jordan. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. The sample consisted of 300 registered nurses recruited from 22 intensive care units in Jordan. The data was gathered using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: The results showed that nurses considered pain assessment moderately and extremely important for surgical (n = 263, 87.7%), burn (n = 261, 87%), and trauma patients (n = 256, 85.3%). The majority of nurses rated pain assessment as moderately to extremely important for invasive line placement 80.3%, wound care 78.3%, and drain removal 69%. Nurses assessed the need for Preemptive analgesia more frequently before wound care 70.7%, and before invasive line placement 69.7%. Nurses perceived pain assessment for Preemptive analgesia as less priority for unconscious patients. Conclusion: Effective assessment and management of pain for critically ill patients is mandatory. Thus, it is important to improve nurses' knowledge regarding the Preemptive analgesia and its effects in relieving post-procedural pain in critically ill patient. It is recommended to ensure proper clinical training on how to assess critically ill patients and auditing system.

Palliative care knowledge and attitudes toward end-of-life care among intensive care unit nurses in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing need for palliative care globally due to the rapid aging of the population and improvement in cancer survival rates. Adequate knowledge and a positive attitude are vital for palliative care nurses. The study's purpose was to examine nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward palliative care. METHODS: A cross-sectional design with convenience sampling was used. The study included 182 intensive care unit (ICU) nurses from Jordanian hospitals in all sectors. Self-administered questionnaires were used to assess nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward palliative care. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: We measured nurses' knowledge using the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing, and we measured nurses' attitudes using the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying scale. The mean total knowledge and attitude scores were 8.88 (standard deviation [SD], 2.52) and 103.14 (SD, 12.31), respectively. The lowest level of knowledge was in psychosocial and spiritual care (mean, 0.51±0.70). The percentage of nurses with unfavorable attitudes was 53.3%. Significant differences in knowledge and attitude levels were observed according to educational level, experience, and hospital type. CONCLUSIONS: ICU nurses have insufficient knowledge and inappropriate attitudes toward palliative care. Knowledge of psychological and spiritual aspects of palliative care was particularly lacking as were appropriate attitudes towards communication with dying patients. Improving knowledge and attitudes toward palliative care in nursing schools and hospitals would help overcome this problem.