Awareness of audiology and speech-language pathology services among healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND:  Healthcare professionals are required to work effectively together to deliver the best healthcare services. Without awareness of other healthcare professionals' roles and responsibilities, interprofessional practice (IPP) cannot be optimally achieved. OBJECTIVES:  This study aimed to investigate healthcare professionals' awareness of audiology and speech-language pathology (SLP) services in Saudi Arabia. METHOD:  This cross-sectional descriptive study consisted of two parts. The content of a 20-item paper questionnaire was firstly validated. The full-scale study addressed the aim through distributing questionnaire items among potential participants. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used. RESULTS:  A total of 403 participants completed the questionnaires for the main study. Most of the participants were Saudi citizens (84.1%), aged 18 years - 40 years (84.8%) years, and lived in Riyadh region (76.2%). Allied health professionals (40.2%), physicians (22.6%), nursing (15.4%) and dentistry (11.2%) were the main group of participants working mainly at governmental hospitals (69.2%). Of the total participants, 92.6% and 95.3% reported being fully aware of the services provided by audiologists and SLPs, respectively. No statistically significant association between the specialty of participants and their familiarity with the scope of practice for SLPs and audiologists was determined. CONCLUSION:  Our study examined healthcare professionals' awareness of audiology and SLP services and revealed a high level of awareness.Contribution: The existed level of awareness is expected to facilitate IPP and enhance the quality of care. Still, awareness campaigns about audiology and SLP services are needed to address the existing lack of knowledge among some healthcare professionals.

Level of Knowledge and Attitude Toward Acute Abdomen Among the Public: A Nationwide Study.

Introduction Treatment of patients suffering from acute abdominal pain (AAP) is often challenging due to its wide range of associated illnesses, which could delay or prevent the identification of the correct diagnosis. Multiple diagnoses should be considered, particularly those in life-threatening situations needing urgent intervention. Aim This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge among the general population related to acute abdomen and which specialty should be sought for consultation in AAP situations. Subject and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among the general population living in Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to the Saudi population through the Google survey. The questionnaire included basic demographic characteristics (i.e., age, gender, etc.), perceived causes, barriers, the most common symptoms of AAP, and a five-item questionnaire to assess the general population's knowledge about AAP. Results Of the 2,703 respondents, 68.1% were females, and 42.4% were aged between 18 and 25 years old. The digestive system disorders (esophagus, stomach, intestine, and colon) were the most perceived causes that led to AAP (76.6%). The overall mean knowledge score was 1.35 (SD 1.07) out of five points. Accordingly, nearly all (87.2%) were considered to have poor knowledge, 9.5% were considered to have moderate knowledge, and only 3.3% were considered to have good knowledge. Being younger, being a male, and living in the Central Region were the factors associated with increased knowledge. Conclusion There was a lack of knowledge about AAP among the general population in Saudi Arabia. Younger age, gender males, and living in the Central Region were identified as the significant factors of increased knowledge. It is necessary to increase the knowledge of the population regarding acute abdomen. Media awareness campaigns may play a significant role in providing the necessary information to the general public.

Knowledge and attitude toward transcranial magnetic stimulation among rehabilitation specialists in Saudi Arabia.

Research has demonstrated the benefits of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in rehabilitation. TMS has been widely used in clinical and research settings for individuals with and without neurological dysfunctions. Therefore, understanding the knowledge and attitudes of rehabilitation specialists regarding TMS is crucial for its application. To our knowledge, no such studies have previously been conducted in the rehabilitation field. Therefore, this study is the first to assess rehabilitation specialists' knowledge of and attitudes toward TMS. An observational cross-sectional study using a self-administered online survey was conducted among 102 rehabilitation specialists to assess their knowledge and attitudes regarding TMS application in rehabilitation sciences. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe the knowledge and attitudes of rehabilitation specialists toward TMS and examine the impact of different factors such as gender, education level, acceptability, and practice on these outcomes. Rehabilitation specialists who participated in this study showed a limited level of general knowledge of TMS in rehabilitation (7.81 ± 6.20, 37.19%). However, a significant association between educational levels and knowledge was found. Higher knowledge scores were observed for specialists with post-graduate degrees compared to those with only a bachelor's degree. Moreover, knowledge level, experience, and availability of TMS equipment in the workplace led to a positive attitude toward TMS among rehabilitation specialists. A low knowledge level among rehabilitation specialists was attributed to their level of education. Nevertheless, specialists showed an overall positive attitude toward TMS. Therefore, customized medical education is necessary to incorporate TMS theory and applications into neuroscience and rehabilitation courses for rehabilitation specialists as it holds significant promise as a therapeutic tool.

Community-Based Intervention and Its Effect on Decreasing the Prevalence of Urinary Schistosomiasis in an Al-Alaqa Male Primary school in Al-Alaqa Village White Nile State, Sudan.

Aim of study: This study assessed the effectiveness of community-based interventions, health awareness, and treatment in controlling schistosomiasis among schoolchildren to improve policies and strategies. Methods: This pre- and post-intervention study was conducted in an Al-Alaqa male primary school, and systematic simple random sampling was used to investigate 237 participants, which resulted in 132 (55.7%) infected students. The infected and noninfected students (580 students) were treated by delivering the praziquantel doses immediately after the results; after 4 weeks, the infected students received the second dose. After 6 months, the rates were investigated again, and all procedures were performed after the height and weight of the students were recorded according to the protocol. Health education was provided for all participants using posters and leaflets. The data were collected via a questionnaire and urine test. The data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), and ANOVA and t-tests were used to determine the significant differences between the variables. Results: A urine investigation was conducted on 237 students; 132 (55.7%) had positive results which showed marked improvement and the prevalence in the school decreased to 3.8% after the intervention. The researcher found strong evidence of a relationship between the prevalence of schistosomiasis before the intervention and availability of water in the home (chi-square = 18.331, df = 1, p value = 000). ANOVA showed strong statistical significance (0.002 and F = 6.564) between the mean score of student age and reasons behind going to the pond. Conclusion: This study concluded that mass chemotherapy and treatment were highly effective when associated with a health program intervention. Mass chemotherapy alone may reduce the prevalence of disease for a short time. Recommendation: Community-based interventions should be applied in schools with an emphasis on health education programs through the training of schoolteachers on investigations for schistosomiasis, treatment with praziquantel, and the provision of materials (microscopes, reagents, and drugs).

Retraction: Schwannoma: A Rare Etiology of Pancoast Syndrome.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.7759/cureus.19418.].

Schwannoma: A Rare Etiology of Pancoast Syndrome.

Musculoskeletal disorders represent a major public health problem and they are frequently managed in primary care centers. Shoulder pain is a frequent musculoskeletal complaint and it can result from intrinsic disorders of the shoulder or referred pain. We present the case of a 24-year-old woman who presented to the family medicine clinic complaining of left shoulder pain for three months duration. The pain was not associated with numbness or weakness. There was no history of preceding trauma. The initial diagnosis was supraspinatus tendinosis. The patient was prescribed oral analgesics and was advised to undergo multiple physiotherapy sessions. Later, the patient presented to the clinic again and reported she did not have any improvement in her symptoms. The patient was referred to the orthopedic clinic for further evaluation and management. The patient underwent a frontal radiograph of the chest which demonstrated a well-defined opacity located in the apex of the left lung. A computed tomography scan of the chest demonstrated the presence of erosion to the vertebral body raising the suspicion for a neurogenic tumor as was later supported by magnetic resonance imaging. The patient underwent video-assisted thoracotomy with brachial plexus exploration. Complete resection of the tumor was achieved with no complications. The present case highlights those common musculoskeletal complaints, such as shoulder pain, which could indicate underlying non-orthopedic pathology.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to improve naming ability in post-stroke aphasia: A critical review.

PURPOSE: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation tool that can be used to influence cortical brain activity to induce measurable behavioral changes. Although there is growing evidence that tDCS combined with behavioural language therapy could boost language recovery in patients with post-stroke aphasia, there is great variability in patient characteristics, treatment protocols, and outcome measures in these studies that poses challenges for analyzing the evidence. The purpose of this study is to critically analyze the methodological rigor of the evidence regarding the use of tDCS for post-stroke anomia. METHOD: This critical review was conducted by searching four databases (MEDLINE, EMBase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL). Nineteen studies fully met the inclusion criteria. Three critical appraisal tools and Robey and Schultz's (1998) five- phase model for conducting clinical outcome research were adopted to evaluate and analyze the current level of evidence. Methodological issues of the studies were also identified. RESULTS: The current level of evidence for using tDCS for anomia is at the pre-efficacy level with emerging evidence at the efficacy level. Lack of proper evaluation of carry-over effects in cross-over studies, lack of or unclear randomization, allocation concealment, and incomplete data handling were the main methodological issues that could threaten the validity of the tDCS for anomia studies. CONCLUSIONS: Several methodological issues have been identified in pre-efficacy studies that pose challenges in determining whether tDCS is a beneficial adjunct to behavioral aphasia therapy. Future studies need to improve the quality of the methods used to investigate the effect of tDCS for anomia.