Profiles of intuitive eating in adults: the role of self-esteem, interoceptive awareness, and motivation for healthy eating.

OBJECTIVE: Intuitive eating is an eating behavior that has recently come to use mainly in the young population. Knowing that the Lebanese cultural diet differs from other countries, the purpose of this study was to investigate if there is a relationship between self-esteem, interoceptive awareness, and motivation for healthy eating in a sample of Lebanese adults using a Latent Profile Analysis approach. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Lebanese governorates. PARTICIPANTS: 359 Lebanese participants enrolled in this study (mean age: 22.75 ± 7.04 years, 40.1% males), through convenience sampling in several Lebanese governorates. Participants were asked to fill anonymously the following scales: The Intuitive Eating Scale (IES-2), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness Scale (MAIA), and the Motivation for Healthy Eating Scale (MHES). RESULTS: Our findings revealed four profiles: profile 1 (n = 67; 18.66%) characterized by high SE and intermediate interoceptive awareness and motivation for healthy eating; profile 2 (n = 86; 23.97%) presented high SE, interoceptive awareness, and motivation for healthy eating; profile 3 (n = 86; 23.96%) characterized by high SE, interoceptive awareness, and motivation for healthy eating; class 4 (n = 108; 30.08) described by low SE, intermediate interoceptive awareness, and motivation for healthy eating One-way analysis of variance did not observe a significant difference between the four profiles based on intuitive eating (F = 1.810; p = 0.145; ɳp2 = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: Among a sample of Lebanese people, four profiles of interoceptive awareness, motivation for healthy eating, and self-esteem were observed, with no difference concerning intuitive eating.

Exploring nurses' experiences of providing spiritual care to cancer patients: a qualitative study.

PURPOSE: This study aims to explore nurses' experiences of delivering spiritual care in an oncology setting. METHODS: An exploratory- descriptive qualitative design. Focus groups were conducted to gather data. The discussions were recorded and transcribed verbatim to ensure accuracy, credibility, and reliability. Inductive thematic analysis was performed to analyze the narratives, and the study's reporting followed the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies. RESULTS: The study revealed four major themes: the spirituality from the perspective of oncology nurses, recognition of patients' spiritual needs, delivery of spiritual care to patients with cancer, and barriers in implementing spiritual care. The participants identified insufficient staff, lack of time, and insufficient knowledge and skills as obstacles to delivering spiritual care. CONCLUSION: This study offers a thorough understanding of how nurses provide spiritual care in an oncology setting. It is recommended that organizational interventions, such as increasing staff numbers, be implemented to enable nurses to provide more compassionate care. Furthermore, nursing curriculums should incorporate purposeful engagement and focused debriefing related to spiritual care to better equip nurses in identifying and meeting the spiritual needs of their patients.

The mediating role of learning motivation in the relationship among perceived stress and emotional regulation among Saudi nursing students in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Nursing students often face high levels of stress due to demanding responsibilities during clinical placement. Emotional regulation, the ability to manage and regulate one's emotions effectively, is crucial for nursing students in dealing with stress and maintaining their overall well-being. Additionally, learning motivation plays a vital role in students' engagement and academic success. The current investigation aimed at studying the link that exists among stress, learning motivation, and emotional regulation among Saudi undergraduate nursing students. The study also aimed at investigating the sequential mediating effects that motivation might perform in this association. METHODS: A quantitative cross-sectional methodology was used in the present research, which recruited 367 Saudi undergraduate nursing students. RESULTS: The results of the ANOVA showed that the level of perceived stress was linearly and negatively correlated with emotional regulation and motivation. Upon conducting structural equation modeling, significant direct and indirect effect pathways were identified between perceived stress, emotional regulation, and motivation, while only indirect pathways were identified between perceived stress and emotional regulation. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence of the mediating role of learning motivation in the relationship between perceived stress and emotional regulation among Saudi nursing students. The results highlight the negative impact of stress on emotional regulation and learning motivation and emphasize the importance of addressing motivational factors in interventions aimed at enhancing emotional regulation among nursing students.

Psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the multidimensional social support scale (MSPSS) in a community sample of adults.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of methodologically strong measure to assess perceived social support among Arabic-speaking populations. Our main objective was therefore to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Multidimensional Social Support Scale (MSPSS) in a sample of Arabic-speaking Lebanese adults from the general population. METHODS: We adopted a cross-sectional design involving a convenience sample of 387 non-clinical Lebanese adults aged 26.17 ± 11.47 years (58.4% females). Participants were administered a web-based anonymous questionnaire containing the MSPSS, the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Post traumatic growth Inventory-Short Form. The forward-backward translation method was applied. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and gender invariance in the MSPSS were examined. McDonald's ω coefficients were calculated as internal consistency indicators. RESULTS: The Arabic MSPSS and its subscales have a high internal consistency with McDonald's ω values between 0.94 and 0.97. CFA indicated that fit of the three-factor model was acceptable. All indices suggested that configural, metric, and scalar invariance was supported across gender. Both genders exhibited no significant difference in all MSPSS dimensions. Convergent validity was supported by showing that all three MSPSS sub-scores and total score correlated significantly and positively with resilience and posttraumatic growth scores. CONCLUSION: Although further cross-cultural validations involving other Arab countries and communities are still needed, we preliminarily suggest that this scale is applicable to the broad Arabic-speaking people for the measurement of perceived social support in clinical and research contexts.

Psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the multidimensional assessment of interoceptive awareness (MAIA-2) questionnaire in a non-clinical sample of Arabic-speaking adults.

BACKGROUND: Interoception refers to processes through which the nervous system identifies, analyzes, and integrates the information generated by the physiological state of the body (e.g., from internal organs such as the stomach, heart, or lungs). Despite its potential interest for clinical research and its wide use globally, no Arabic adaptation and validation of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA-2) questionnaire exists to date. The goal of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the MAIA-2 in a sample of Arabic-speaking community adults from Lebanon. We hypothesized that the Arabic version of the MAIA-2 would yield adequate internal consistency coefficients; the 8-factor structure model would show a good fit to our data, with measurement invariance and good convergent validity. METHOD: The Arabic adaptation of the MAIA-2 was developed using the forward-backward translation method. A non-clinical sample of Arabic-speaking adults (n = 359, 59.9% females, mean age = 22.75 years (SD = 7.04)) took part of this validation study. To check if the model was adequate, several fit indices were calculated: the normed model chi-square (χ²/df), the Steiger-Lind root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) and the comparative fit index (CFI). Values ≤ 3 for χ²/df, and ≤ 0.08 for RMSEA, and 0.90 for CFI and TLI indicate good fit of the model to the data. RESULTS: Confirmatory Factor Analyses corroborated the validity of the original 8-factor structure of the MAIA-2 [χ2/df = 1603.86/601 = 2.67, RMSEA = 0.068 (90% CI 0.064, 0.072), SRMR = 0.058, CFI = 0.903, TLI = 0.892]. Reliability estimates in our sample revealed good internal consistency, with McDonald's ω coefficients for the subscales ranging from 0.86 to 0.93. Our analyses also revealed measurement invariance of the Arabic MAIA-2 for gender. No statistically significant difference between men and women in all dimensions, except for the not worrying and attention regulation subscales where men scored significantly higher than women. Finally, the Arabic MAIA-2 dimensions showed positive correlations with the intuitive eating dimension "Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues", thus providing support for convergent validity. CONCLUSION: We contribute the literature by providing the first Arabic adaptation and validation of a measure assessing the multidimensional construct of self-reported interoception. The Arabic MAIA-2 demonstrated good psychometric properties. We thus preliminarily recommend its use to measure the interoceptive awareness construct among Arabic-speaking communities worldwide.

Translation and validation of the mindful eating behaviour scale in the Arabic language.

BACKGROUND: There has been a drastic increase in the prevalence of obesity and its related diseases in the Arabic-speaking countries during the last decades along with a lack of public awareness about this awareness about this public health problem. This calls for the development of novel prevention and intervention strategies that are based on new approaches, including mindful eating. In this context, we aimed through this study to explore the factor structure, composite reliability, measurement invariance across sex, convergent and divergent validity of an Arabic translation of the Mindful Eating Behaviour Scale (MEBS). METHODS: A cross-sectional study carried out between September and November 2022, and enrolled 359 participants, all aged above 18 years old and recruited from all Lebanon governorates. The questionnaire used included socio-demographic questions, and the following scales: The Mindful Eating Behavior Scale (MEBS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Intuitive Eating Scale-2, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-8). RESULTS: McDonald's ω values ranged from .82 to .95 or the four mindful eating domains, indicating the excellent internal consistency reliability of the scale. Our study also showed that fit indices from the confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the original four-factor structure model of the MEBS. Furthermore, our analyses suggested that configural, metric, and scalar invariance was supported across sex. Our results found no sex difference in all MEBS subscales scores. Finally, we found positive correlations between Focused eating, Hunger and satiety cues on one hand, and intuitive eating on the other hand. Moreover, greater Hunger and satiety cues scores were correlated with higher self-esteem and lower body mass index. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the psychometric reliability and validity of the Arabic MEBS. We suggest, accordingly, that the scale will be of high clinical and research utility, and will help in the development of information-based interventions focused on mindful eating that are aimed to combat eating disorders and obesity in the Arab world.

Mental illness stigma as a moderator in the relationship between religiosity and help-seeking attitudes among Muslims from 16 Arab countries.

BACKGROUND: Determining the potential barriers responsible for delaying access to care, and elucidating pathways to early intervention should be a priority, especially in Arab countries where mental health resources are limited. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have examined the relationship between religiosity, stigma and help-seeking in an Arab Muslim cultural background. Hence, we propose in the present study to test the moderating role of stigma toward mental illness in the relationship between religiosity and help-seeking attitudes among Muslim community people living in different Arab countries. METHOD: The current survey is part of a large-scale multinational collaborative project (StIgma of Mental Problems in Arab CounTries [The IMPACT Project]). We carried-out a web-based cross-sectional, and multi-country study between June and November 2021. The final sample comprised 9782 Arab Muslim participants (mean age 29.67 ± 10.80 years, 77.1% females). RESULTS: Bivariate analyses showed that less stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness and higher religiosity levels were significantly associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes. Moderation analyses revealed that the interaction religiosity by mental illness stigma was significantly associated with help-seeking attitudes (Beta = .005; p < .001); at low and moderate levels of stigma, higher religiosity was significantly associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes. CONCLUSION: Our findings preliminarily suggest that mental illness stigma is a modifiable individual factor that seems to strengthen the direct positive effect of religiosity on help-seeking attitudes. This provides potential insights on possible anti-stigma interventions that might help overcome reluctance to counseling in highly religious Arab Muslim communities.

Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma and help-seeking attitudes: a multinational population-based study from 16 Arab countries and 10,036 individuals.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that culture deeply affects beliefs about mental illnesses' causes, treatment, and help-seeking. We aimed to explore and compare knowledge, attitudes toward mental illness and help-seeking, causal attributions, and help-seeking recommendations for mental illnesses across various Arab countries and investigate factors related to attitudes toward help-seeking. METHODS: We carried out a multinational cross-sectional study using online self-administered surveys in the Arabic language from June to November 2021 across 16 Arab countries among participants from the general public. RESULTS: More than one in four individuals exhibited stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness (26.5%), had poor knowledge (31.7%), and hold negative attitudes toward help-seeking (28.0%). ANOVA tests revealed a significant difference between countries regarding attitudes (F = 194.8, p < .001), knowledge (F = 88.7, p < .001), and help-seeking attitudes (F = 32.4, p < .001). Three multivariate regression analysis models were performed for overall sample, as well as Palestinian and Sudanese samples that displayed the lowest and highest ATSPPH-SF scores, respectively. In the overall sample, being female, older, having higher knowledge and more positive attitudes toward mental illness, and endorsing biomedical and psychosocial causations were associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes; whereas having a family psychiatric history and endorsing religious/supernatural causations were associated with more negative help-seeking attitudes. The same results have been found in the Palestinian sample, while only stigma dimensions helped predict help-seeking attitudes in Sudanese participants. CONCLUSION: Interventions aiming at improving help-seeking attitudes and behaviors and promoting early access to care need to be culturally tailored, and congruent with public beliefs about mental illnesses and their causations.

COVID-19 quarantine stressors and management among Lebanese students: a qualitative study.

The aim of this research paper is to examine the current situation, emotional reactions of university students and their coping mechanisms during and after the COVID-19 quarantine. The study was undertaken in a major higher education institution in Lebanon. An exploratory qualitative research design was adopted. A phenomenological qualitative method was employed where, semi-structured interviews were carried out among 20 university students during and 3 months after release from quarantine. The qualitative analysis have revealed 5 themes during quarantine period namely "Concerns regarding learning and evaluation methods", "Overwhelming load", "Dealing with technical difficulties", "Confinement", and "Coping with problems", in addition to 3 themes after the quarantine period namely "Relief of academic stress", "Fear of becoming infected and jeopardizing family health", "Stigma of being infected". The quarantine has inflicted multiple psychological challenges among university students, which should be highlighted and mediated by higher education institution in order to support the students' learning and their academic achievement.

Lebanese nursing students' perceptions of barriers to the implementation of person-centered care in clinical settings: A qualitative study.

AIM: This study aims to investigate how Lebanese nursing students perceive the challenges of implementing person-centered care in clinical settings. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive design was adopted for this study. METHODS: At one of Lebanon's top universities, a qualitative descriptive study design was used with 18 nursing students from various academic levels. Content analysis was used to generate the results after three focus group discussions. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research were used to report this study. RESULTS: The content analysis gave rise to four main themes, namely, "overload", "challenges with education", "unawareness", "establishing connection", and "lack of initiatives related to policy". The results showed a number of obstacles that Lebanese nursing students believed were in the path of providing person-centered care. These obstacles included organisational issues like time restraints and an intense workload, as well as interaction difficulties with patients and healthcare teams, and educational issues like insufficient instruction in person-centered care concepts during nursing programs.

Experiences, barriers and expectations regarding current patient monitoring systems among ICU nurses in a University Hospital in Lebanon: a qualitative study.

Purpose: The aim of the study is to assess the experiences, barriers, and expectations regarding current patient monitoring systems among intensive care unit nurses at one university hospital. Methods: A qualitative exploratory study approach was adopted to test the research questions. Results: Intensive care unit personnel placed a high value on practical criteria such as user friendliness and visualization while assessing the present monitoring system. Poor alarm handling was recognized as possible patient safety hazards. The necessity of high accessibility was highlighted once again for a prospective system; wireless, noninvasive, and interoperability of monitoring devices were requested; and smart phones for distant patient monitoring and alert management improvement were required. Conclusion: Core comments from ICU personnel are included in this qualitative research on patient monitoring. All national healthcare involved parties must focus more on user-derived insights to ensure a speedy and effective introduction of digital health technologies in the ICU. The findings from the alarm control or mobile device studies might be utilized to train ICU personnel to use new technology, minimize alarm fatigue, increase medical device accessibility, and develop interoperability standards in critical care practice.

Psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the 10-item Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC-10), the 8- and 10-item post-traumatic growth inventory-short form (PTGI-SF) scales.

BACKGROUND: Given their clinical significance and impact on stress response and their potential malleability, resilience and posttraumatic growth (PTG) should receive greater attention as relevant constructs in clinical and research practice in the Arab context. We aimed through the present study to test the psychometric properties of Arabic translations of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC-10), the 10-item and the 8-item Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form (PTGI-SF) in a sample of Lebanese adults from the general population. METHODS: Three hundred eighty-seven Arabic-speaking participants (mean age = 26.17; 58.4% females) responded to a self-report web-based questionnaire. The forward and backward translation method was applied with the approval of the original developers of the scales. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that fit of the one-factor model was acceptable, and all indices suggested that configural, metric, and scalar invariance was supported across gender for all the three scales. The CD-RISC-10, the 10-item and the 8-item PTGI-SF yielded a good internal consistency, with a McDonald's ω of .89, .95, and .93, respectively. Higher resilience and higher PTG were significantly and positively associated with greater cognitive reappraisal and lower emotion suppression, supporting convergent validity. CONCLUSION: We preliminarily suggest that these Arabic instruments are appropriate for use in Lebanese community adults to assess different positive responses after life crises, identify people with lack or low levels of resilience and growth who might need intervention, and monitor their response to therapy. Further cross-cultural validations should seek to extend their use in broader Arabic-speaking populations and settings.

The role of psychological factors on improving work engagement among nurses.

Background: Work engagement is affected by many psychological variables including emotional intelligence, psychological empowerment, and resilience that are not well-studied among nurses. Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of emotional intelligence on the work engagement of critical care nurses, and the mediating role of resilience and psychological empowerment. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted in this study among 150 critical care nurses at one university hospital in Saudi Arabia. Independent t-test and correlational analysis were used to assess relationships between study variables. A multi-step regression model was used to assess the mediatory effect. Results: The results showed that a statistically significant positive association exists between each of the study variables (p < 0.01). The regression model showed that higher resilience (p < 0.001) and psychological empowerment (p < 0.001) predicted higher work engagement. The model predicted 33.3% of the changes in work engagement scores among critical care nurses. Conclusion: To enhance work performance and quality of care rendered at critical care units, higher emphasis should be placed on emotional intelligence and other significant psychological variables.

The mediating effect of post-traumatic growth on the relationship between personality traits and resilience among a sample of Lebanese adults.

BACKGROUND: Resilience plays a crucial role in mental health promotion and prevention, and was shown to be more represented in individuals who exhibit high levels of extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. However, there is a lack of studies that comprehensively investigate the association between personality traits and resilience in Lebanon and Arab countries more broadly. The purpose of the present study was to complement the literature by investigating the direct and indirect effects between the five personality traits and resilience among a sample of Lebanese adults through the intermediary role of posttraumatic growth. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was carried out between May and July 2022, and enrolled 387 participants, all aged above 18 years old and recruited from all Lebanon governorates. The questionnaire used included socio-demographic questions, and the following scales: Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) to assess resilience, post traumatic growth (PTG), and Big Five Inventory (BFI-2). The SPSS software v.25 was used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Post-traumatic growth mediated the association between extraversion / agreeableness / conscientiousness and resilience. Higher extraversion / agreeableness / conscientiousness was significantly associated with more post-traumatic growth. Higher post-traumatic growth was significantly associated with more resilience. Extraversion, but not agreeableness and conscientiousness, was significantly and directly associated with more resilience. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that fostering PTG in individuals who experience adversity can help promote their resilience. Hence, it could be beneficial to design and apply programs aiming at supporting PTG among people who experience stressful and traumatizing situations, to consequently help them increase their sense of resilience.

The Lived Experiences of Saudi Nursing Students in Digital Clinical Experience: A Phenomenological Study.

Background Novel digital methods of simulation are gaining popularity in nursing education in light of the limited access to clinical placement and expensive high-fidelity simulation technologies. Aim The aim of this study is to explore the lived experiences of Saudi nursing students in digital clinical experiences (DCEs). Methods A qualitative phenomenological research design, grounded in Husserlian phenomenology, was employed. Purposive sampling was utilized to select 21 participants actively involved in DCEs. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect rich, narrative data. Results The thematic analysis has yielded four themes, namely, "comfort and safety", "critical thinking and problem solving", "appraisal of knowledge", and "transition to practice." Conclusions The findings contribute to ongoing discussions about leveraging technology in nursing education, emphasizing the need for educators and policymakers to integrate digital tools that enhance the learning experiences of nursing students.

Psychometric properties of the arabic translation of the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R) in adults.

BACKGROUND: Physical comparison may be a factor in body dissatisfaction and related issues, like eating disorders and depression. The Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R) is a scale developed to assess the frequency of physical comparison. Because there is no validated scale for body comparison in Arabic, this study aims to address this gap by validating the PACS-R in the Arabic language. METHODS: The PACS-R was translated to Arabic following a conventional forward-backward translation procedure, and was administered to a sample of 359 Lebanese adults along with The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES) for convergent validity. The factor structure was studied by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and composite reliability was assessed using McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: Results suggested a one-factor structure of the Arabic PACS-R, with good internal consistency (McDonald's ω = 0.97 / Cronbach α = 0.97). Measurement invariance was established across sex groups, with no significant difference being reported between males and females in terms of PACS-R scores (15.42 ± 10.64 vs. 13.16 ± 11.88; t(357) = 1.84; p = .066). Finally, adequate convergent validity was tested and found to be adequate, with PACS-R scores found to be correlated negatively with self-esteem and positively with psychological distress. CONCLUSION: The present findings preliminarily establish the Arabic PACS-R as an effective instrument for researchers and practitioners aiming to explore the physical comparison among Arabic-speaking populations, thus contributing to research and clinical work in the Arabic community.

Stress and academic engagement among Saudi undergraduate nursing students: The mediating role of emotion regulation and emotional intelligence.

AIM: To assess the mediating role of emotion regulation and emotional intelligence in the relationship between stress and academic engagement among Saudi undergraduate nursing students. DESIGN: This study employed a quantitative cross-sectional research design. METHODS: The study recruited 367 Saudi undergraduate nursing students at a major Saudi university. Structural equation modelling was used to explore the mediational model. RESULTS: The results of the ANOVA and Welch F-test demonstrated that the emotional intelligence, emotional regulation and academic engagement scores were statistically significantly different according to stress levels (p-values <0.01). Perceived stress has a statistically significant moderate negative correlation with academic engagement and emotional intelligence and a strong negative correlation with emotional regulation. The results also showed that academic engagement had a statistically significant moderate positive association with emotional intelligence and emotional regulation. Results indicate that stress and academic engagement are negatively correlated among Saudi undergraduate nursing students. It focuses on the balancing functions of emotional regulation and emotional intelligence, highlighting their ability to lower stress levels and improve academic engagement. No Patient or Public Contribution.

Perceptions of Bedside Nurses Caring for Patients with Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVAD): A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: Bedside nurses in the intensive care units are exposed to multiple challenges in their regular practice and recently have taken in ventricular assist device care in Lebanon since its introduction as a fairly new practice. Objectives: To explore the experiences of nursing staff who work in Lebanese hospitals with Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVAD). Methods: This study employed a qualitative phenomenological research design, where semi-structured interviews were carried out among fifteen LVAD nurses in an acute care hospital. Results: The qualitative data analysis produced six main themes. The first theme prevalent was "LVAD incompetence and shortage" and it reflected the deficit in properly structured training and the number of specialized LVAD nurses. The second theme that resulted from the analysis was titled, "Patient and family knowledge", which indicated the misconceptions that families and patients usually hold about LVAD which usually sugarcoats the situation. This was followed by "Burden of complications", "LVAD patient selection", "Perception of the LVAD team as invulnerable", and "High workload and patient frailty" which reflected the perspectives of LVAD nurses. Conclusion: This study shows that the Lebanese LVAD nurses who participated in this study perceived inadequate competence, yet lacked proper training and induction. The nurses reported multiple challenges relating to care tasks, workload, and patient and family interactions which need to be addressed by coordinators.

Analysis of the current situation of pharmacogenomics in terms of educational and healthcare needs in Egypt and Lebanon.

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) is a practice that investigates the link between genetic differences and drug response in patients. This can improve treatment effectiveness and reduce harmful side effects. However, has yet to be adequately realized in developing nations. Three surveys were conducted between November 2022 to March 2023 in Egypt and Lebanon. The first survey assessed availability of PGx testing in different healthcare facilities; the second one assessed knowledge, interest and attitude toward learning about PGx among pharmacists and physicians; and the third one assessed interest in providing PGx education at academic levels. In Egypt, a few of the surveyed healthcare facilities are conducting some form of pharmacogenetic testing. In Lebanon, very few germline pharmacogenomic tests are offered in Greater Beirut's leading hospitals, and no other testing was recorded. PGx education attracts considerable interest, with 34.3% of pharmacists very interested and 48.8% interested. Similarly, 24.8% of total physicians were very interested while 44.8% were interested. Academic professionals in the surveyed institutions in both countries agreed on the need for educational programs in PGx and 78.2% agreed that there were good opportunities for implementing PGx testing. These findings clearly indicate the need to develop and implement educational programs in PGx in the Middle-East.

[Box: see text].