Measuring social responsibility towards employees in healthcare settings in Egypt and its interrelation to their job satisfaction.

OBJECTIVES: Developing a valid tool to measure perceived social responsibility (SR) practices towards employees and examining the impact of employee-centered SR considerations on the employees' job satisfaction. METHODS: A cross sectional survey of employees at three private hospitals was conducted. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. It consists of baseline characteristics, structured SR measuring scale, job satisfaction questionnaire and Perception of Empowerment Instrument (PEI). RESULTS: The questionnaire developed to measure SR towards employees showed excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha is > 0.7). A considerable number of SR criteria were perceived as partially or fully met by the majority of studied employees except for rewarding, training activities, salary satisfaction and enhancement activities. Significant correlation was found between employees' job satisfaction and all domains of SR as well as employees' empowerment. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that significant predictors of employee's satisfaction are fulfillment of economic and social responsibility criteria as well as the level of perceived empowerment. CONCLUSIONS: In healthcare industry in Egypt, fulfillment of the basis for SR is one of the predictors of achieving high job satisfaction. Extra-performance rewarding and career development should be looked at while managing human resources.

Assessment of the cognitive function in adult Egyptian patients with obstructive sleep apnea using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment: a retrospective large-scale study.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Sleep apnea is a chronic disorder associated with multiple recognized comorbidities. Only a few studies focus on evaluating the cognitive profile in patients diagnosed with sleep apnea. The aim of the study was to assess the cognitive functions in this population using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. METHODS: The study cohort was 1,445 adult patients who were referred for overnight polysomnography, 764 cases and 681 healthy controls. All participants' clinical data and comorbidities were taken, and they all performed overnight polysomnography and Montreal Cognitive Assessment. RESULTS: A significantly higher proportion (57.5%) of sleep apnea groups were males; 15.7% were illiterate compared to the non-sleep apnea group. Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were significantly more prevalent among studied patients with sleep apnea, and the mean total score for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale was significantly lower among those with sleep apnea at P < .001. Those with no sleep apnea showed a significantly higher function in all attributes compared to patients with sleep apnea-namely, language, orientation, abstraction, naming, attention, and recall (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate predictors for occurrence of cognitive impairment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment score < 26) among the studied sample (n = 1,445). The overall model was significant at P < .001. Variables that showed significance in univariate analysis were entered in the model. Significant predictors for cognitive impairment were being male, older age, diabetic, hypertensive, and with a lower level of education and having sleep apnea. CITATION: Mekky JF, Yousof S, Elsayed I, Elsemelawy R, Mahmoud H, Elweshahi H. Assessment of the cognitive functions in adult Egyptian patients with obstructive sleep apnea using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment: a retrospective large-scale study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(3):721-729.

Psychological and Sexual Consequences of Psoriasis Vulgaris on Patients and Their Partners.

INTRODUCTION: Psoriasis is a chronic, multisystem, inflammatory, disfiguring disease with a high negative impact on quality of life due to comorbid psychological, organic, and sexual consequences. AIM: To evaluate the psychopathological and sexual aspects of psoriasis vulgaris in patients and their partners compared to healthy controls. METHODS: In the current comparative cross-sectional study, the sample included 220 psoriasis vulgaris patients (110 males and 110 females), their consenting partners, and 220 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. All participants were evaluated for depression and anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and for low self-esteem using the Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Questionnaire. Sexual function was assessed in females using the Female Sexual Function Index questionnaire and in males using the International Index of Erectile Function and its abbreviated 5-item version. For male patients suffering from erectile dysfunction, hormonal assessment and penile duplex ultrasound were added. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The main outcome measures were frequency of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and sexual dysfunction in psoriasis vulgaris patients, partners, and controls; the domains of sexual function affected in the studied groups; and the etiology of erectile dysfunction in affected psoriatic males. RESULTS: Frequency of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem were significantly higher in psoriasis patients of both sexes compared with controls. Sexual dysfunction followed the same trend of being significantly higher in cases when compared to controls. Females had a significantly higher frequency of sexual dysfunction than males. Sexual dysfunction in both sexes involved multiple domains of the sexual response cycle, with depression and genital affection by psoriasis being risk factors in both sexes and disease severity being an additional risk factor in females. Erectile dysfunction was mainly psychogenic in origin in male patients. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Assessment of psychopathological and sexual comorbidities in psoriasis patients and partners should be an integral part of the management plan and should be added to the guidelines of the disease. STRENGTH & LIMITATIONS: This study is of sufficient power to draw solid conclusions. Assessment of the partners and determination of the sexual domains affected by the disease and nature of erectile dysfunction in males are points of novelty. The cross-sectional design is a limitation of the study. CONCLUSION: Psoriatic patients of both sexes and their partners suffer from a high burden of psychopathological and sexual consequences that are related to disease distribution and severity. Alariny AF, Farid CI, Elweshahi HM, et al. Psychological and Sexual Consequences of Psoriasis Vulgaris on Patients and Their Partners. J Sex Med 2019; 16:1900-1911.