Improving awareness of preconception health among adolescents: experience of a school-based intervention in Lebanon.

BACKGROUND: Maternal behavior before and after conception affects maternal and child health. Limited awareness of adolescents in preconception health may be addressed through school education. The aim of this intervention is to assess preconception health awareness among adolescents in Lebanese high schools and to test the effectiveness of a one-time educational session in improving preconception knowledge. METHODS: The intervention consisted of a 30-minute educational session about good practices in preconception health, developed by the National Collaborative Perinatal Neonatal Network's (NCPNN) research team. A convenience sample of high school Lebanese students in grades 10 to 12, aged 14 to 26 years old, from 70 private and public schools in all six Lebanese provinces, participated in the intervention in 2011 and 2012. A multiple-choice questionnaire administered prior to and 2 months after the session was used to assess knowledge improvement among the students. RESULTS: A total of 7,290 students were enrolled. After the session, mean scores of correct answers increased from 4.36 to 6.42 out of 10, representing a 47.2% improvement (p < 0.001). The percent of correct answers increased for all the questions regarding health practices (p < 0.001). The greatest improvement was observed for questions about Trisomy 21, folic acid intake and toxoplasmosis with percentages improvement of 96%, 172% and 83% respectively. Being female or in private school was a significant predictor of higher scores in both pre-test and post-test (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Awareness campaigns in schools increased the preconception health knowledge among high school students. We recommend expanding the scope of this intervention into universities in Lebanon.

Assessment of self-medication in population buying antibiotics in pharmacies: a pilot study from Beirut and its suburbs.

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to assess self-medication with antibiotics (ATB) in the general population and its associated factors. METHODS: Face to face interviews using a structured questionnaire were conducted to collect data from ATB buyers in pharmacies in Beirut area. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to predict self-medication. RESULTS: 42 % of 319 participants were buying ATB without prescription and the pharmacists were the main helpers (18.8 %). Saving time was the most common cited reason for self-medication with ATB (39.7 %). The logistic regression showed that self-medication with ATB was significantly increased among men [OR = 3.03; IC 95 % (2-5)]; it was associated with sore throat symptoms [OR = 2.38; IC 95 % (1.40-4.03)] and the ignorance of ATB use dangers [OR = 3.33; IC 95 % (1.96-5.55)]. In addition, it was prominent with amoxicillin [OR = 1.93; IC 95 % (0.17-1.34)], and inversely related to quinolone [OR = 0.44; IC 95 % (0.18-1.03)] and cephalosporin families [OR = 0.28; IC 95 % (0.11-1.68)] or other ATB classes [OR = 0.96; IC 95 % (0.41-2.22)]. CONCLUSIONS: Self-medication with antibiotics is a relatively frequent problem in Beirut area. Interventions are required to reduce antibiotic misuse.