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BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI) implies using a computer to model intelligent behavior with minimal human intervention. With the advances of AI use in healthcare comes the need to reform medical education to produce doctors competent in AI use. Therefore, this qualitative study was conducted to explore faculty and students' perspectives on AI, their use of AI applications, and their perspective on its value and impact on medical education at a Saudi faculty of medicine. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University in Saudi Arabia. A direct interview was held with 11 faculty members, and six focus group discussions were conducted with students from the second to sixth year (34 students). Data were collected using semi-structured open-ended interview questions based on relevant literature. FINDINGS: Most respondents (91.11%) believed AI systems would positively impact medical education, especially in research, knowledge gain, assessment, and simulation. However, ethical concerns were raised about threats to academic integrity, plagiarism, privacy/confidentiality issues, and AI's lacking cultural sensitivity. Faculty and students felt a need for training on AI use (80%) and that the curriculum could adapt to integrate AI (64.44%), though resources were seen as currently needing to be improved. CONCLUSION: AI's potential to enhance medical education is generally viewed positively in the study, but ethical concerns must be addressed. Integrating AI into medical education programs requires adequate resources, training, and curriculum adaptation. There is still a need for further research in this area to develop comprehensive strategies.
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BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a serious public health concern. It is associated with many psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. These co-morbidities are associated with improper adherence to treatment, self-care, poor glycemic control, more complications, and worse outcomes. METHODS: This study aimed to measure the level of medication adherence among type 2 diabetics in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, and to find its association with their psychological status (specifically, depression and anxiety). A cross-sectional descriptive design was used among adults with type 2 diabetes at the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. The estimated sample size was 480 patients. The General Medication Adherence Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) were used as tools to achieve the study objectives. RESULTS: A total of 449 diabetic patients completed the survey (93.5% response rate). Patients with poor, low, and partial adherence account for 337 (75%) of patients and only 112 (25%) have good and high medication adherence. Employment and duration of illness were highly significant with a positive relationship to treatment adherence (p = 0.010 and 0.000, respectively). On the other hand, age and disease duration had a significant relationship with psychological disorders (p = 0.029 and 0.002, respectively). Of the patients, 64 (14.3%) had high scores on the PHQ-4, with depressive symptoms in 46 (10.24%) and anxiety symptoms in 75 (16.7%). Correlation analysis reveals that there is a highly significant negative correlation between psychological disorders and adherence to medications (r = -0.288, p = 0.000). CONCLUSION: A negative correlation between psychological disorders and adherence to medications was found. The findings indicate the importance of psychological support for diabetic patients for better treatment adherence.
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BACKGROUND: Lifestyle includes habits, behaviors, values, attitudes, and economic levels that define an individual or group's way of living for people living in the same region at a specific time. In the last few decades, with urbanization and modernization, most adults, especially in Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, have adopted a sedentary, less active lifestyle. This study aims to assess lifestyle choices and satisfaction among employees of Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted in the Jazan University campus in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through personal interviews conducted by trained medical students. A structured questionnaire was filled out during the interviews. Data analysis was conducted using R software (version 4.2.3) (R Development Core Team, Vienna, Austria). RESULTS: This study involved 1126 employees of Jazan University, with a response rate of 75%. The occupational distribution was as follows: 576 (51%) in administrative positions, 516 (46%) as faculty members, and 34 (3%) as healthcare workers. In terms of physical activity, 488 (43%) engaged in less than 150 minutes of weekly physical activity, while 363 (32%) reported no physical activity at all. Regarding body weight satisfaction, 590 (52%) were satisfied, while 536 (48%) were not. Males reported a higher satisfaction in body weight, physical activity, and eating behavior. Dietary choices, such as eating fruits and vegetables, low-fat meats, and avoiding high-sugar foods, positively correlated with satisfaction in eating behavior and body weight. The assessment of satisfaction with body weight, physical activity level, and eating behavior indicates that some university affiliates are satisfied with their lifestyle despite having unhealthy lifestyle choices. CONCLUSION: The current findings indicate that Jazan University affiliates are experiencing a high prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles, especially in terms of low levels of physical activity, selection of unhealthy food items, and overweight and obesity. This study should be followed up by interventional designs to investigated best evidence-based approaches for lifestyle behavior change, especially among aging populations such as university affiliates.
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Introduction Glaucoma can be considered a heterogeneous group of diseases with characteristic progressive optic neuropathy, which causes the development of visual field dysfunctions and irreversible blindness. Glaucoma is the most prevalent cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Aim This study aimed to assess the awareness and knowledge of glaucoma and its associated risk factors among the adult population in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, in 2022. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 384 participants aged 40 years and above in the Jazan region. A convenience sampling technique was adopted to obtain the target sample size. Data were collected using a self-administered electronic questionnaire on Google Forms. Results A majority (73.1%) of the 387 respondents to the questionnaire were in the age group of 40-50 years, with the average age being 47.43 years. No statistically significant difference was found between different age groups' level of knowledge (p=0.769). In addition, the difference between levels of knowledge based on participants' residence was also statistically insignificant (p=0.387). Of the participants who were not diagnosed with glaucoma, 55% had poor knowledge of glaucoma; however, only 3.10% of the participants diagnosed with glaucoma had poor knowledge of the condition. Consequently, there was a statistically significant difference between participants' levels of knowledge based on their diagnosis of glaucoma (p=0.04). Conclusion The study revealed low knowledge and awareness levels regarding glaucoma among adults aged 40 years and above in the Jazan region.
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Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) describes infants who were only breastfed for 6 months. Many Saudi mothers have suboptimal breastfeeding practices. Therefore, this study aims to assess breastfeeding knowledge and determine barriers to EBF among mothers attending primary health care centers in Jazan City. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done that included all mothers attending the PHC centers. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Most study participants understand breastfeeding's health benefits for babies and mothers, but most believe that synthetic milk is the best alternative for working mothers to feed their babies. A percentage of 66.7 of mothers practiced breastfeeding during the first 6 months of the child's life. EBF shows a significant relationship with knowledge and barriers. Sixty percent of mothers have never had any information about breastfeeding; the primary source was from their mothers and only 31.4% from hospital staff. Most respondents disagreed with statements of barriers to EBF, which elicits an unexpected response. Conclusions: Most participants have good knowledge concerning breastfeeding benefits for both mother and infant and disagreed on the mentioned barriers for EBF that include lack of breastmilk, deficiency of information, and working conditions.
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Background: Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) especially at early stages is highly important to improve the quality of life and help to decrease the disease burden. This study was performed to assess the school teachers' level of knowledge and perception regarding Autism. Materials and Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was carried out in the Jazan region among a random sample of school teachers (males and females) who are working at the governmental primary Schools, throughout the scholastic year 2019-2020. A structured validated self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. It includes three sections: sociodemographic information of the participants, the Autism Knowledge Questionnaire (AKQ), and statements exploring the teachers' attitudes toward children with autism. Results: The study included 403 primary school teachers. The age of 47.1% of them ranged between 35 and 44 years. Slightly more than half (50.9%) were males. Overall, the total autism knowledge score ranged between 2 and 26, out of a possible 30 with a median (interquartile range "IQR") of 15 (12-18). Teachers who ever encountered a child with autism had higher significant knowledge scores about autism compared to their counterparts (mean ranks were 263.95 and 179.32, respectively), P < 0.001. Female compared to male teachers more significantly agreed that teachers not trained in special education should not be expected to deal with a child with autism, P = 0.018. Teachers aged between 35 and 44 years are more willing to have an autistic child in their class in compare to those ages ≥55 years that they would not want children with autism in their class, P = 0.036 and more interested in attending training in the area of childhood developmental and behavioral disorders, P = 0.010. Postgraduate teachers were more agreed than Bachelor holders that teachers not trained in special education should not be expected to deal with a child with autism, P = 0.001. Diploma-holder teachers were more agreed than postgraduates that children with autism are too impaired to benefit from activities of a general school, P = 0.019 and students with Autism should be given every opportunity to function in the regular education classroom whenever possible, P = 0.028. Conclusion: The knowledge about autism among primary school teachers is average in general, however, they expressed mostly positive attitudes towards autistic children.
