Public Awareness of Palliative Care: A Nationally Representative Sample of Jordanian Adults.

CONTEXT: Internationally, studies suggest that inadequate comprehension of the concept of palliative care and misconceptions about it hinder the effective use of palliative care, especially in developing nations. OBJECTIVE: To assess the awareness of the adult population in Jordan regarding palliative care. METHODS: The study used a cross-sectional design and an online self-administered questionnaire survey. The recruitment method was convenience snowball sampling of three thousand nine hundred forty-two Jordanian adults covering 12 governorates. Participants were recruited through social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. The process of gathering data commenced in October -December 2023. Descriptive statistics were computed. RESULTS: A study of 3942 respondents in Jordan found that 45% have some knowledge of palliative care, with 31% being pretty knowledgeable. Most respondents (89%) strongly agree that patients with incurable illnesses should receive palliative care, with cancer patients showing the highest level of agreement (96%). The most agreed-upon aspect of palliative care is controlling pain and symptoms at home, while the least agreed-upon aspect is providing information on benefits and financial matters. The study also highlighted the link between palliative care and mortality, suggesting the need for increased awareness and education. CONCLUSION: The demand for palliative care in Jordan is increasing, requiring increased access, a holistic approach, open discussions, and easily accessible information. Challenges include integrating palliative care into non-malignant progressive diseases, ensuring comprehensive end-of-life care, promoting societal receptiveness towards mortality, enhancing information accessibility, and health promotion efforts. The study's results indicate the importance of implementing educational strategies and engaging families and communities in policymaking to change public knowledge and attitudes toward palliative care.

Depression stigma, depression literacy, and psychological help seeking attitudes among school and university students.

Very little research has specifically investigated depression stigma and its correlation with depression literacy and help-seeking attitudes among students. This study aimed to assess the levels and correlations of stigma, literacy, and psychological help-seeking attitudes related to depression among a sample of high school and university students in Jordan. A descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional design was employed using an anonymous, online, self-report survey. This study included a total of 650 students aged 16 to 24 years. The participants were found to have high levels of depression stigma, low levels of depression literacy, and negative attitudes towards seeking psychological help. The most frequently reported sources of psychological help were family members, relatives, and friends. A significant negative correlation was found between depression stigma and depression literacy. The predictive factors of depression stigma were depression literacy, age, gender, education, father's educational level, family size, and having history of mental health problems among family members, relatives, or friends. This study provides valuable information on the common mental health needs and concerns among students in Jordan. The findings also highlight the importance of developing and implementing depression awareness and prevention education campaigns for students in schools and universities. Such campaigns may increase students' knowledge about depression, enhance their use of mental healthcare services, and prevent or decrease their risk of developing depression.

Evaluating effects of prenatal web-based breastfeeding education for pregnant mothers in their third trimester of pregnancy: Prospective randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Education is the cornerstone supporting breastfeeding practices. However, the traditional oral education method cannot always satisfy the learning needs of mothers. OBJECTIVE: to measure the effectiveness of prenatal web-based breastfeeding education program for Jordanian pregnant mothers in their third trimester of pregnancy on enhancing knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy of breastfeeding after giving birth. METHODS: prospective randomized control trial design was used with sample consisted of 112 pregnant mothers who were recruited from one antenatal clinic in Irbid Governorate. Data collection instruments were the infant feeding knowledge and attitudes (IIFAS) and Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES) were used to measure self efficacy, knowledge and attitudes regarding breastfeeding. RESULTS: Participants of the experimental group were at moderate level of BSES in pre and post intervention with increasing the number of mothers in the same level post intervention. Participants were at a neutral level of IIFAS in both groups generally, they were neither positive to breastfeeding nor to bottle feeding. There was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups on post- intervention scores on BSES and IIFAS. CONCLUSION: This study is considered the first trial to use new teaching methodologies as internet and website in teaching mothers about breastfeeding. Despite that there were not differences between intervention and control groups, web-based breastfeeding education program may contribute in improving breastfeeding self efficacy. IMPLICATIONS: Inclusion prenatal web-based breastfeeding education in antenatal clinics at MCHC centers of Ministry of Health. Further research is needed to replicate this study in other Jordanian health settings.