Examining Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Outcomes of a Culturally Adapted Evidence-Based Postpartum Depression Preventive Intervention for Women in Doha, Qatar: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression and anxiety are the 2 most common perinatal mental health disorders, with prevalence rates higher among women living in the Middle East than in most Western countries. The negative outcomes associated with postpartum depression and anxiety are profound and include less responsive parenting and compromised infant and young child development. Although interventions exist to prevent postpartum depression and anxiety, to date, there have been no studies that have attempted to prevent postpartum depression or anxiety among Arabic-speaking women in the Middle East, including Qatar. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an evidence-based postpartum depression preventive intervention-Mothers and Babies (MB)-culturally adapted for use with Arabic-speaking women in Doha, Qatar. MB is guided by a cognitive behavioral therapy framework that focuses on increasing pleasant activities, promoting healthy thought patterns, and increasing the type and frequency of personal contacts. MB is tailored to specific needs and issues related to pregnancy and the postpartum period. METHODS: A multidisciplinary and multiethnic investigator team adapted MB to promote cultural and contextual fit for Arabic-speaking women. Intervention concepts were reviewed to ensure core content would be understood by Arabic-speaking women in Qatar. Subsequently, images, activities, and examples in the intervention manuals were adapted, as needed, to make the content more relevant to Arab culture. To deliver the adapted intervention, 30 Arabic-speaking individuals with mental health backgrounds were trained. The adapted intervention was subsequently pilot-tested with 10 pregnant women receiving prenatal care at Sidra Hospital in Doha. We are now conducting an RCT to examine the effectiveness of the adapted intervention. We plan to enroll 210 pregnant individuals who are Arabic-speaking, with 1:1 randomization to the MB intervention or usual prenatal care. Among the enrolled participants, a stratified subsample of 40 pregnant women with diabetes is being recruited. Data collection will take place at baseline and a 6-month follow-up. The primary outcomes are depressive and anxiety symptoms and perceived stress. Diabetes self-care is the exploratory outcome for the subsample of individuals with diabetes. Intervention implementation will be assessed via client and provider surveys during and after intervention delivery. Power and sample size were calculated using a 2-sided 5% effort rate and assumed analyses on the individual level, accounting for attrition of 20%. RESULTS: The cultural adaptation and pilot study of the adapted MB intervention are completed. A total of 157 women have been enrolled in the RCT as of March 31, 2023. CONCLUSIONS: This study is highly innovative, as it is the first study to our knowledge to examine the effectiveness of an evidence-based postpartum depression preventive intervention in the Middle East. Limitations include a single follow-up time point and a small subsample of individuals with diabetes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04442529; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04442529. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/11623.

Vaccination in pregnancy - The when, what and how?

Immunization is a fundamental component of preventive healthcare. This gain special significance in pregnancy. Maternal antigen-specific IgG, is actively transported across the placenta during pregnancy. This significantly, contributes to infant immunity in the first few months of life. Vaccination during pregnancy has the potential to indirectly protect the most vulnerable infants during the first few months of life, when vaccine responses are generally poor and it is difficult to achieve rapid protection through immunization. This is especially relevant when there is prior exposure to infection in woman or vaccine administration. A vaccine given during pregnancy in these women would result in a booster response and a relatively high level of IgG protecting their children in initial few months of life. Passive antibody transfer from mother to fetus can protect fetuses from infection until their own immunization schedule is initiated. Lack of administration of appropriate vaccination to women during pregnancy lead to an increase in maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality from preventable infections like influenza, pertussis. Various preventable infections can lead to intensive care unit admission for mothers, preterm birth, and low birth weight babies. Recent covid pandemic has brought issue of vaccine use in pregnancy at forefront of all expectant mothers. Immunization with inactivated virus, bacterial vaccine and toxoids showed no evidence of adverse fetal effects. As a rule, live attenuated vaccines are not recommended in pregnancy. This paper gives snapshot of all vaccines, which can be used in pregnancy along with brief details regards various bacterial and viral infections , their common clinical features and effects on pregnancy outcome as well as fetus. This is will provide a useful guide for healthcare providers.

Dengue in pregnancy: Review article.

Dengue is the most common viral mosquito- borne disease. It is a major public health problem, especially in tropical and sub-tropical areas worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 40% of the world's population (over 2.5 billion people) live in areas with high risk of contracting dengue infection. Adults of childbearing age and pregnant women are travelling more frequently to tropical areas. Therefore exposing themselves to specific arboviral infections such as dengue, which may impact ongoing and future pregnancies. Clinical manifestations of dengue are wide ranging from asymptomatic to needing intensive care in cases of hemorrhagic dengue fever. The effects of dengue during and on pregnancy are unclear, moreover there is a lack of a cohesive reference to inform women of reproductive age who live in or travel to endemic areas and are at risk of contracting dengue. Here we present review of literature specifically looking at etiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, management of dengue in pregnancy as well as its effect on maternal health and fetal outcomes. There is clear evidence to suggest adverse maternal outcomes in women with symptomatic dengue in low resource countries. A high index of clinical suspicion and early referral to tertiary center will prevent maternal -fetal serious adverse events in endemic areas. This review will help Clinicians in advising as well as managing women who travel during pregnancy to endemic areas as well as clinicians based in endemic areas who are managing women with dengue in pregnancy.

Does good clinical practice at the primary care improve the outcome care for diabetic patients? Gender differences.

BACKGROUND: The Middle East region is predicted to have one of the highest prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in the world. This is the first study in the region to assess treatment outcome of DM according to gender. OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality and effectiveness of diabetes care provided to patients attending primary care settings according to gender in the State of Qatar. DESIGN: It is an observational cohort study. SETTING: The survey was carried out in primary health care (PHC) centers in the State of Qatar. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study was conducted from January 2010 to August 2010 among diabetic patients attending (PHC) centers. Of the 2334 registered with diagnosed diabetes, 1705 agreed and gave their consent to take part in this study, thus giving a response rate of 73.1%. Face to face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire including socio-demographic, clinical and satisfaction score of the patients. RESULTS: Majority of subjects were diagnosed with type 2 DM (84.9%). A significantly larger proportion of females with DM were divorced or widowed (9.1%) in comparison to males with DM (3.4%; p<0.001). A significantly larger proportion of females were overweight (46.5%; p=0.009) and obese (29.5%; p=0.003) in comparison to males. Males reported significantly greater improvements in mean values of blood glucose (mmol/l) (-2.11 vs. -0.66; p=0.007), HbA1c (%) (-1.44 vs. -0.25; p=0.006), cholesterol (mmol/l) (-0.16 vs. 0.12; p=0.053) and systolic blood pressure (mmHg) (-9.04 vs. -6.62; p<0.001) in comparison to females. While there was a remarkable increase in male patients with normal range of fasting blood glucose (FBG; 51.6%) as compared to the FBG measurement 1 year before (28.5%: p<0.001) there was only a slight increase in females normal range FBG during this period from 28.0% to 30.4% (p=0.357). CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that the current form of PHC centers afforded to diabetic patients provided significantly improved outcomes for males, but only minor improved outcomes for females. This study reinforces calls for a gender-specific approach to diabetes care.

Medical audit of the quality of diabetes care: is primary care more successful than hospitals?

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of diabetes care provided to patients attending primary care settings and hospitals in the State of Qatar. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. SETTING: The survey was carried out in primary health care centers and hospitals. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study was conducted from January 2010 to August 2010 among diabetic patients attending primary health care centers and hospitals. Among the patients participating, 575 were from hospitals and 1103 from primary health care centers. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire including sociodemographic, clinical, and satisfaction score of the patients. RESULTS: The mean age of the primary care diabetic patients was 46.1 ± 15.1 years and 44.5 ± 14.8 years for hospital patients (P = .03). There was a significant difference observed in terms of age group, gender, marital status, occupation, and consanguinity of the diabetic patients in both medical settings (P < .001). Overweight was less prevalent in primary care patients than in hospital diabetes mellitus patients (40.4% vs 46.4%). A significant variation was observed in the mean values of blood glucose (-0.76), HbA1C (-0.78), LDL (-0.01), albumin (-0.37), bilirubin (-0.76), and triglyceride (-0.01) in primary care patients compared to the mean values of the preceding year. Overall, complications were lower in primary care diabetic patients, and patients attending primary care were more satisfied with the diabetes care. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that in general, primary health care provided a better quality of care to diabetic patients compared to that of hospitals. Also, primary care patients had a better satisfaction score towards diabetes care.