Intimate partner violence and quality of life among mothers in Jordan during COVID-19 era.

AIMS: The study aims to examine the correlation between intimate partner violence [IPV] and quality of life [HRQoL] of mothers during COVID-19 era. METHOD: This study is a cross-sectional correlational study. The inclusion criteria was Jordanian women with at least 18 years old, who read and write in Arabic language and able to participate. The collection of data was done through a self-reported questionnaire distributed and completely filled with 300 married Jordanian women using social media. This study was conducted between the months of October and December 2020. The participants signed consent after being informed of their rights to exit at any point during the study and the study methods. RESULTS: The prevalence of IPV among women was 28.3. The mean of quality of life is 86.0 [SD = 13.1) and the mean of violence is 11.9 [SD = 3.01). There was a significant negative relationship between violence and quality of life (r2 = .224, p = .001). This means as the violence increases, the quality-of-life decreases. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, there is an association between IPV and HRQoL among married people. Providing an education program and vital resources for women with the goal of preventing COVID-19 violence and assisting Jordanians become very essential.

Knowledge toward COVID-19 in children among undergraduate students at the beginning of COVID-19 era.

AIMS: To describe the level of knowledge of undergraduate students in Jordan toward COVID-19 in children in respect of the clinical signs of the disease, modes of transmission, protection measures against the disease and satisfaction with governmental measures. DESIGN: A cross-section was utilized in this study. METHODS: An online survey questionnaire was utilized in this research study. All undergraduate students in Jordan were able to take part. The size of the sample was 799. Knowledge toward COVID-19 among children was used to assess the participants' knowledge about COVID-19. RESULTS: The findings indicate that the students had a good understanding of the clinical signs, mode of transmission and protection measures and were satisfied with governmental measures. According to the students' responses, the resource they used the most was social media followed by news channels. Our study also found that medical specialty students had more knowledge toward COVID-19 than non-medical.

Nurses' experiences of workplace violence in the emergency department.

THE AIM: To describe nurses' perceptions about predisposing factors, nurses' roles and effective strategies to combat workplace violence (WPV) in the emergency department (ED). BACKGROUND: Various forms of WPV against nurses is highly prevelent in EDs in Jordan and elsewhere. There is a dearth of information about predisposing factors for WPV and what strategies nurses use to counter this. METHOD: A qualitative descriptive design was used to describe nurses' perceptions about their roles and effective strategies regarding WPV. A purposive sample of 24 nurses (12 male and 12 female) who were working in the ED at two Jordanian hospitals participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for each participant. The data were analysed using Colaizzi's narrative analysis steps and the Lincoln and Guba's framework to ensure credibility and trustworthiness. RESULTS: Three major themes emerged from the analysis of the data: (1) predisposing factors for WPV  in ED, (2) the roles adopted by nurses in WPV incidents and (3) beneficial strategies to counter WPV. CONCLUSION: Participant nurses provided insights into the predisposing factors of WPV in Jordanian EDs. A range of strategies and roles used by nurses to counter WPV in health institutions and community contexts were identified. However, the effective strategies used by nurses confronted by WPV did not emerge from having been trained or educated for such crises and therefore WPV remains underestimated and underreported. IMPLICATION FOR NURSING POLICYMAKERS: Violence of all types is a crime and laws need to be not only strong but also appropriately enforced. Employers have a legal responsibility to provide a safe workplace for staff. Their organizational policies about workplace safety must reflect national laws as well as the human rights of people who come to work in their organizations. Workplace policies need to emphasise safety measures, professional training and education for assuring a safe hospital environment. It is crucial to conduct culturally competent programmes for preventing and countering WPV, taking into consideration the nurses' Jordanian cultural backgrounds and context.

Abuse by the male intimate partner: Psychometric testing of the modified worksite harassment tool in working women.

The authors' purpose was to examine psychometric qualities of the modified worksite harassment tool in working women. Internal consistency was used for reliability and principal components analysis and correlation for construct validity. Two items were dropped due to poor psychometric qualities. Cronbach's alpha was 0.78. Two factors (subscales) emerged from dimensionality testing. The abuse scores found using the tool, as well as by the two factors, were significantly correlated with women's depressive symptoms, stress, and diagnosis with chronic illnesses. Incorporating the modified worksite harassment tool with routine assessment of women in health care facilities within the work settings was recommended.

Through Her Eyes: The Impact of War on Syrian Refugee Families.

BACKGROUND: The Syrian war conflict ended with devastating impact on Syrian refugee women and their children. A few studies have been done that explored the impact of the civil war and displacement of Syrian families from a cultural perspective. The purpose of this study was to highlight the experiences of the Syrian war-refugee families who have sought shelter in a host country. METHOD: A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted using a semistructured interview approach among 16 Syrian refugee women who were approached from two Jordanian health care centers. RESULTS: The main themes discussed how the war ended with financial and social stress, family violence, and hazardous effects on women and children health. CONCLUSION: This article introduced how culture and religion influence how family unit and members responded to war stressors. This study provided transcultural nursing knowledge, allowing nurses to be grounded in individualized culturally specific care.

Men's Perceptions of Violence against Women: Improving Cultural Literacy for Combating Violence within Family.

While research evidence exists about Jordanian men's perceptions and attitudes about violence against women (VAW), there is a scientific gap for addressing VAW as a Jordanian cultural norm. This study aimed to describe Jordanian men's perceptions and attitudes toward VAW, leading factors for VAW, and strategies to combat VAW. A qualitative descriptive design was used with 14 Jordanian men and semi-structured interviews. Nine themes emerged: men's definitions of VAW, men's beliefs and attitudes about VAW, men's feelings toward VAW, intensifying factors for VAW, men's justification for women staying in abusive relationships, the hazardous impact of VAW, experience of using violence against wives, men's strategies for combating VAW, and absence or limited role of services for victims of VAW. Men in many cultures including Jordan inherit structured patriarchal ideology, which gives men the perceived right to control women and to manage familial conflict. Inherited cultural beliefs about male roles within families should be restructured by collaborating with community stakeholders to combat VAW.

"We cannot stop smoking": Female university students' experiences and perceptions.

BACKGROUND: While findings are available about smoking in young females, there is a dearth of research reporting this problem among Jordanian females, particularly university students. Also, there is lack of studies that describe the daily experience and the causative factors for smoking among female university students. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to describe the experience of smoking as perceived by female Jordanian university students. In addition, this study aimed to describe the predisposing factors for initiating smoking and feelings toward that experience. METHOD: A descriptive qualitative study was employed. A purposive sample of 12 female Jordanian university students who smoke cigarettes were asked to participate in this study. A semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted. RESULTS: Five themes of the study included: (1) living and enjoying smoking with other females, (2) hazardous effect of smoking, (3) our culture stigmatizing female smoking, (4) why we don't stop smoking, and (5) strategies to combat smoking among females. CONCLUSION: Female university students disclosed peer pressure and stress as intensifying factors for smoking. Also they were unable to quit smoking because they were attached and addicted to smoking cigarettes. STUDY IMPLICATIONS: The findings of our study have several implications for nursing education, policymaking, and practice. An important target would be to motivate university students who are smokers to attempt smoking cessation leveraging cultural leaders as role models. Policy makers also should revise policies related to importing and taxation of cigarettes is essential. In addition, policy makers should enforce legislation for smoking fee areas and prevention of smoking in closed areas.

Students' perceptions and experiences in a health promotion course using interactive learning.

There is lack of studies that describe the experience of studying a health promotion course using an interactive approach and students' perceptions about this method of teaching. The purpose of this study is to describe students' experiences and perceptions about health promotion course using an interactive learning approach. A descriptive qualitative design was used among 16 undergraduate university students at a governmental university. Four main themes emerged from the data analysis including: (1) fruitfulness and satisfying experience of interactive learning, (2) interactive learning versus traditional learning, (3) barriers to interactive learning, and (4) suggestions to enhance interactive learning. Students reflected positive attitudes toward interactive learning. Interactive learning helped students to be engaged in learning process physically and cognitively. Students mentioned several advantages of learning health promotion course using interactive learning, including, enhancing understanding, sharing ideas and opinions, promoting self-esteem and self-confidence, keeping their minds active and attentive, and improving interpersonal communication. Updated and contemporary learning strategies and methods should be introduced for enhancing interactive learning courses.

Mental health stigma: the effect of religiosity on the stigma perceptions of students in secondary school in Jordan toward people with mental illnesses.

AIM: Mental health disorders in many countries are regarded as taboo and are often concealed. This study aimed to (a) explore students in secondary school' stigma perceptions of mental disorder; (b) examine whether there is a connection between religiosity and stigma toward people with mental illnesses; and (c) identify stigma correlates for stigma perceptions toward people with mental illnesses based on the religiosity and demographic features of the students. METHOD: A cross-sectional correlational study was undertaken among 357 students from two high schools. The participants completed a structured research instrument that consisted of (1) a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, (2) a religiosity questionnaire and (3) a devaluation-discrimination scale. RESULTS: The regression model was able to forecast a moderate percentage of stigma perception variance (F = 4.74, p = .01). Gender was the only important correlate in the model at p = .05. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This study found that among students in secondary school in Jordan there is an association between religiosity and stigma toward mental disorders. This result implies that there is a need to increase policy maker information about the importance of applying religious principles to decrease stigma and enhance a positive non-stigmatizing attitude toward mental disorders. Moreover, improving the curriculum content concerning the problems associated with mental ill health may allow students to gain a more precise understanding of mental disorders more generally.

Religiosity and stigma toward patients with mental illness among undergraduate university students.

There is a dearth of research that investigates the relationship between religiosity and stigma of mental illnesses by the context of Jordanian culture. So, this study aimed to describe the relationship between religiosity and stigma against mental illnesses as described by undergraduate university students in Jordan. This study design was descriptive correlations study among 338 University Students, undergraduate students in Jordan. The findings indicate there is a significant correlation (r = - 0.154, p < 0.05) between stigma toward patient with mental illnesses and religiosity. The higher religiosity score is associated with more negativity toward stigma of patient with mental illnesses. Also, the findings indicated there was a significant difference between medical and non-medical student's specialty area and stigma toward patients with mental illnesses (t = 111.14, p = 0.01). Non-medical students reported more stigma for patients with mental illnesses. Stigma against patient with mental illnesses should be addressed at different levels. Cultural competency curriculum should be established for medical and non-medical students to assure more acceptance attitudes and avoidance of stigma against patients with mental illnesses.

Parenting a Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Perspective of Jordanian Mothers.

INTRODUCTION: Parenting a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is challenging for mothers because of concerns related to behavior, difficulties in accessing specialized care, and lack of community acceptance, yet their stories in Jordanian context are still unknown. Common challenges in Jordan include financial burdens, lack of public awareness, and lack of specialized knowledge even among health care providers, which may lead to delays in obtaining the diagnosis and interventions for ASD. METHOD: A phenomenological descriptive approach was used to explore and understand the mothers' everyday lived experiences of raising a child with ASD. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 mothers to identify their challenges so that nurses can identify gaps in services, empower families, and facilitate optimum care to these Jordanian families. FINDINGS: The main themes that emerged were (1) mothers' journeys with the diagnosis, in which mothers recognized the abnormalities of their children, reported delays in getting the diagnosis and initiation of treatment, and described a wide range of reactions to the diagnosis from grief and guilt to a blessing from God; (2) the burden of care, by which mothers reported physical and emotional exhaustion, financial burdens, and concerns about the quality of available services; and (3) the consequences and the hurdle of having a child with ASD, which affected the family relationships and social life. DISCUSSION: Jordanian mothers caring for children with ASD face several challenges, including physical, psychological, financial, and social challenges, in addition to limited specialized services. Identifying their unique challenges and needs are essential to support them, provide appropriate services and resources, and develop policies and guidelines for culturally competent quality services.

Marital Violence affecting female nurses and its physical and mental health consequences.

THE AIM: To investigate the relationship between marital violence and Jordanian nurses' physical and mental health. BACKGROUND: Despite the negative impact of marital violence on female nurses' health, few studies have investigated its physical and mental aspects. METHOD: A descriptive correlational design was used to investigate the relationship between marital violence and the physical and mental health of female Jordanian nurses. One hundred ninety-eight female Jordanian nurses from five governmental hospitals were recruited. The Women Abuse Screening Test was used to measure forms of violence, and the SF-36 V2 instrument was used to examine physical and mental health. The prevalence of violence was calculated, and the linear relationship between violence and physical and mental health was measured using Pearson correlation. RESULTS: Female nurses reported a high percentage of different forms of violence. The study results revealed a negative relationship between violence and mental health and physical health. CONCLUSION: Jordanian female nurses suffered hazardous physical and mental health consequences of violence that adversely affect their entire life. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY AND EDUCATION: Nursing educators should establish clear guidelines and training policies on marital violence for nurses through creation of an effective and cooperative networking and resources. Also, nursing/health policymakers should create responsive healthcare environment through raising the awareness on marital violence against nurses and providing counselling services for emergency and concurrent cases.

Marital Violence During War Conflict: The Lived Experience of Syrian Refugee Women.

INTRODUCTION: Marital violence increases during times of war. This study aims to describe the lived experience of marital violence toward Syrian refugee women during the current war in Syria. DESIGN: A descriptive phenomenological research methodology was used to conduct semistructured interviews with 16 purposively selected Syrian refugee women residing in displacement centers in Jordan. Colaizzi's steps of data analysis were used. RESULTS: Four themes identified were identified: (1) Loss, insecurity, and suffering; (2) Shame and humiliation; (3) Justifying and enduring marital violence; and (4) Ways of coping with marital violence. CONCLUSION: The Syrian War conflict changed women's lifeway and created a context for marital violence. Study findings suggests addressing marital violence during wartime and allocating resources to provide care and support of victims of violence in the displaced countries.

The relationship between physical activity and diet, and overweight and obesity, in young people.

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity has a worldwide association with serious health problems and complications that increase the risk of illness and death. AIM: To identify and assess the factors contributing to overweight and obesity among school students in north Jordan. METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study involving 1,554 students was conducted between October 2014 and February 2015. RESULTS: More than two thirds (70%) of participants were normal weight (5th percentile-<85th percentile), while 12% were overweight and 13% were obese. The prevalence of obesity was high (20%) among those eating snacks three times per day. The prevalence of overweight was high (12%) among those who followed no regular physical activity programme. CONCLUSION: Collaboration is required between policymakers, healthcare professionals, business and community leaders, schools and local organisations to create suitable environments that support healthy lifestyles for children and young people.

The Relationship Between Spirituality and Quality of Life of Jordanian Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between spirituality and quality of life (QoL) of Jordanian women diagnosed with breast cancer. Descriptive cross-sectional design was conducted using a convenient sample of 150 Jordanian women with breast cancer at King Hussein Cancer Center. Participants completed the Arabic version of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being. A positive linear relationship was found between spirituality and QoL, r = 0.67, p = 0.000. The highest score of correlation was seen between spirituality and the functional domain, r = 0.63, p = 0.000. Spiritual intervention could contribute to increased functional, social, and physical well-being and enhance the total health and QoL of women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Jordanian nurses' barriers to screening for intimate partner violence.

Screening rates for intimate partner violence (IPV) among nurses are still very low. The study purpose is to evaluate IPV screening and barriers by Jordanian nurses. A cross-sectional design was used with a stratified random sample (N = 125) of Jordanian nurses. Findings included a significantly lower IPV screening rate among Jordanian nurses compared with those in the United States, no difference in screening between IPV victims compared with non-victimized nurses, and that the IPV screening barriers related to a lack of system support were the most clinically important barriers. Nurses can work in partnership with health care providers and managers to increase screening and overcome barriers.

A comparison of intimate partner violence between Jordanian nurses and Jordanian women.

Intimate partner violence is a serious international problem. It is not known if the extent of intimate partner violence for Jordanian nurses is similar to that of Jordanian women. Until the rate is known, implementation of nursing interventions for Jordanian women may be thwarted. The study purpose was to determine the rate of intimate partner violence among Jordanian nurses working in governmental health settings in a northern city of Jordan and to compare the rate to published statistics for a community sample of Jordanian women. A cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. A stratified random sample of 80 Jordanian nurses working in governmental women's health centers and public hospitals in a northern city of Jordan was invited to participate. Institutional review board approval was granted. Participants completed the Woman Abuse Screening Tool in a private room at their work site. No identifiers were added to the survey forms. Chi-squared goodness-of-fit tests were computed to compare the rate of intimate partner violence between the study sample and reported statistics for Jordanian women. Approximately 59% of participants experienced psychological violence, 12.5% experienced physical violence, and 5.1% experienced sexual violence. No significant differences were found in the rates of violence for the study sample and published data for a community sample of Jordanian women. Intimate partner violence is as prevalent against Jordanian nurses as it is for Jordanian women. Intimate partner violence needs to be addressed to prevent potential sequelae such as decreased work productivity and an inability to provide safe patient care.

The prevalence of seatbelt use among pediatric hospital workers.

Eighteen percent of drivers do not consistently wear their seatbelts when driving. The purpose of this article is to report the problem of noncompliance with seatbelt use among health care workers at a Level I pediatric trauma center in the midwest United States with evidence from a non-experimental, observational study. Results showed that 84% (n=3,641) of drivers and 73% (n=113) of passengers wore their seatbelts. A significant correlation was found between driver seatbelt use and passenger seatbelt use (p=.272, p<.001). Drivers from primary seatbelt legislation states wore their seatbelts significantly more often than drivers from the secondary seatbelt legislation state, χ(1)=0.913, p=.012. Non-compliance with seatbelt use among pediatric health care workers is a problem equal to that of the general population. It may be necessary to adopt and enforce mandatory seatbelt use policies at the organizational level to increase seatbelt use in this population of hospital workers.

Violence against women: unveiling the suffering of women with a low income in Jordan.

The descriptive qualitative study documents experiences of Jordanian women abused by their husbands. Thirteen married women living with an abusive husband were recruited from a major primary healthcare center. The women described forms, intensity, and consequences of their husband's acts. Despite their anguish, women justified, normalized, and tolerated abuse; this acceptance reflected their cultural values and norms. Implications for nursing practice include (a) identifying abused women, (b) empowering them with knowledge to change their sociocultural perceptions of marital relationships, (c) designing interventions that address their needs, and (d) educating health care providers to take a role in addressing spousal abuse.