Psychoactive substance use and associated factors among Mohammed first university students, Oujda, Morocco: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The use of psychoactive substances, including tobacco, alcohol, and others, remains a major public health problem. However, few studies have been conducted on Moroccan university students. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of substance use among students at Mohammed First University, Oujda, Morocco. METHODS: We conducted this cross-sectional study with students enrolled at one of the Mohammed First University of Oujda's institutes as part of the 2021-202 academic year. We used a self-administered survey to collect data anonymously. We cleaned the data and then entered it into IBM SPSS Statistics 21 for analysis. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics as well as univariate and multivariate analysis. We considered a P value < 0.05 as the level of significance. RESULTS: In this study, out of 500 students we asked to complete the survey, 478 responded; the response rate was 95.6%. The average age was 21.1 ± 3.0, and the M/F sex ratio was 0.97. The lifetime prevalence of psychoactive substance use among Oujda University students was 28.7%. The most commonly used substances were tobacco (24.1%), alcohol (15.9%), cannabis (13.4%), sedatives (6.9%), stimulants (5.2%), and cocaine (4.4%). Male sex, age > 20 years, self-financing, school failure (one year repeated or more), the practice of a leisure activity, the presence of a personal medical or psychiatric history, and the presence of a family medical history were all significantly associated with the use of psychoactive substances. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed a significant prevalence of psychoactive substance use among university students in Oujda, highlighting the need for interventions at various levels. Further analytical studies are necessary to better understand the initiation and maintenance of psychoactive substance use and to identify all associated factors to enhance prevention strategies against substance use disorders.

A psychological insight of Moroccan adults' immunisation behaviour towards emergency vaccines.

BACKGROUND: The psychology of vaccination behaviour explains how thoughts and feelings influence people's willingness to receive vaccines. Understanding vaccination behaviour is crucial to successfully managing vaccination campaigns. AIM: Investigating factors associated with immunisation stress among students at Mohammed First University. SETTING: This study was conducted on students at Mohammed First University institutions. METHODS: This study is a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study. It was conducted on 305 students at Mohammed First University institutions using a 90-item questionnaire. RESULTS: Three hundred and five participants have been included in this survey. Overall, 65.5% of the students in our sample had a positive perception towards COVID-19 vaccines. Nevertheless, 34.5% had a negative opinion regarding immunisation. According to the analysis of perceived stress scale, 40% (n = 122) of students expressed moderate to high stress regarding vaccination. Students with a negative perception of vaccine showed a higher level of stress than those with a positive one. Stressed students tended to be older than others, coming from other institutions, other than the medical faculty, and were renting alone. Vaccine accessibility was the less significant reason associated with stress regarding vaccination. Moreover, participants with high levels of confidence in social media, exhibited higher stress. Nevertheless, those who believed in scientific journals were significantly less stressed. CONCLUSION: These results reflect a positive perception and acceptance of vaccines, with a considerable level of stress regarding vaccination.Contribution: This study suggests emphasising the mental health of Moroccan young adults, to better sensitise and inform them about immunisation.

Biomarkers Predicting Poor Prognosis in Covid-19 Patients: A Survival Analysis.

Introduction With the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and its overwhelming impact on health systems in several countries, the importance of identifying predictors of severity is of paramount importance. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between death and the biological parameters of patients with Covid-19. Materials and methods This is an analytical retrospective cohort study conducted on 326 patients admitted to the Mohammed VI University Hospital in Oujda, Morocco. The statistical analysis concerned the biological parameters carried out on the admission of the patients, in addition to age and sex. The comparison between the two surviving and non-surviving groups was made by a simple analysis than a multivariate analysis by logistic regression. Next, a survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method and then by Cox regression. Results A total of 326 patients were included in the study, including 108 fatal cases. The mean age was 64.66 ± 15.51 and the sex ratio was 1.08:1 (M:F). Age, procalcitonin, liver enzymes, and coagulation factors were significantly higher in patients who died of Covid-19 and are therefore considered to be the main prognostic factors identified in this study. Conclusion Knowledge and monitoring of predictive biomarkers of poor prognosis in patients with Covid-19 could be of great help in the identification of patients at risk and in the implementation of an effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategy to predict severe disease forms.

Abrupt introduction of distance learning during the covid-19 pandemic: What psychological impact on teachers?

As soon as the COVID-19 pandemic appeared, the Moroccan education ministry decided to adopt distance learning (DL). Our target was to study the psychological impact of DL on Moroccan teachers during the pandemic. This cross-sectional study used an online questionnaire based on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Among 148 responses, 64.9% were women, and the average age was 41.1±11.5 years. 79.1% participated in DL, 58.8% were required to acquire DL tools and 71.6% had never received DL training. Between the start and the end of confinement, we noticed a decrease in the motivation of teachers.36.2% had definite depressive symptomatology and 41.3% had certain anxiety symptomatology with a significant predominance in women. The frequencies of depression and anxiety were higher in those who had participated in DL, but the association was not significant. Depression was significantly frequent among teachers who were obliged to acquire tools to practice DL P=0.02, those who had never received training DL P=0.046, and those who were not satisfied with the situation P=0.03. We didn't find a direct association between DL and anxiety and depression, which the small sample size may explain, but we did find an association with the variables related to DL.

Abrupt introduction of distance learning during the covid­19 pandemic: What psychological impact on teachers?

As soon as the COVID 19 , the Moroccan education ministry decided to adopt distance learning (DL). Our target was to study the psychological impact of DL on Moroccan teachers during the pandemic. This cross-sectional study used an online questionnaire based on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Among %, and the average age was 41.1±11.5 years. 79.1% participated in DL, 58.8% were required to acquire DL tools and 71.6% had never received DL training. Between the start and the end of confinement, we noticed a decrease in the motivation of teachers.36.2% had definite depressive symptomatology and 41.3% had certain anxiety symptomatology with a significant predominance in women. The frequencies of depression and anxiety were higher in those who had participated in DL, but the association was not significant. Depression was significantly frequent among teachers who were obliged to acquire tools to practice DL P=0.02, those who had never received training DL P=0.046, and those who were not satisfied with the situation P=0.03. We didn't find a direct association between DL and anxiety and depression, which the small sample size may explain, but we did find an association with the variables related to DL