Knowledge and awareness of stroke in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional study of the general population.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to assess stroke knowledge among the general population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and determine the factors associated with stroke awareness among people. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the UAE between September and November 2021. The general population has self-administered an online bilingual survey (Arabic and English) distributed via social media platforms. The questionnaire covered general knowledge about stroke risk factors, consequences of stroke, and responding to somebody with acute stroke attack. RESULTS: A total of 545 surveys were completed, with more than half of the participants being female (58.5%), married (55.4%) and employed (59.4%). The majority were less than 50 years old (90.5%) and had a university degree (71.0%). Many of the participants (70.8%) had a good general knowledge of stroke; however, around 20% of the participants were able to recognize all symptoms and risk factors of stroke. The most common sources of stroke-related information were the internet/social media (53.6%). Females were better able to correctly identify at least one stroke symptom and outcome than males (p=0.008). University education has significantly affected participants' ability to identify early stroke symptoms (p=0.001) correctly. In addition, diabetic people were more likely to recognize at least one stroke outcome than non-diabetic people (p=0.039). CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge of stroke was good among highly educated people and females. However, the awareness of all stroke risk factors, symptoms, consequences and risk factors was inadequate among the general population of the UAE. Thus, there is still a gap between recognition of the relevant stroke and taking action among people.

Lessons Learned from the Pandemic in the UAE: Children COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Its Impact on the Choice of Distance versus Face-to-Face Learning Modalities: An In-Depth Analysis of a National Study.

This study addresses the crucial aspect of childhood COVID-19 vaccination and its impact on parental decisions concerning learning modalities during the pandemic. This study aimed to gauge parental hesitancy towards vaccinating their children and its influence on choosing between distance and face-to-face learning options. Following STROBE guidelines for cross-sectional studies, this study surveyed 1973 parents in the United Arab Emirates using Google Forms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed that while more than half of the parents (51.6%) were willing to vaccinate their children if the COVID-19 vaccine was accessible and affordable, a significant majority (91.2%) expressed concerns about the rapid vaccine development process, which was the primary reason for vaccine rejection. Interestingly, a sizable portion (55.3%) had experienced online learning in the previous academic term, and, of those, 59.6% believed it negatively influenced their children's academic performance. Consequently, 66.4% expressed intent to shift their children back to face-to-face learning once feasible. Significantly, parents with medical backgrounds were more inclined (91.6%) to opt for face-to-face schooling compared to those without such backgrounds. Logistic regression analysis indicated associations between sociodemographic characteristics, educational level and background, and the decision to return children to face-to-face learning. Interestingly, when it comes to vaccine hesitancy, a noteworthy connection exists between the parents' reluctance to vaccinate their children and their preference for distance learning. In fact, parents who responded negatively to vaccinating their children against COVID-19, if the vaccine was available, showed a clear preference for the distance learning modality (p-value < 0.0001). This study underscores the complex interplay of factors and community perspectives shaping parental acceptance of childhood COVID-19 vaccination. The development pace of vaccines significantly influences parents' attitudes and beliefs about vaccination programs. Parents' medical backgrounds exhibit a clear correlation with their perceptions of sending children back to school safely. This highlights the potential impact of parental medical knowledge on decision making, emphasizing the need to consider parents' professional backgrounds when devising education- and vaccination-related policies.

Factors associated with knowledge and awareness of stroke in the Iraqi population: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Stroke is a highly prevalent condition with high rates of death and disability in Iraq and around the world. Knowledge of stroke and its associated risk factors is essential for disease prevention and rapid response when confronted with a stroke patient. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess stroke knowledge and identify factors associated with awareness among the Iraqi public. Material and methods: A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted on the Iraqi population. The self-administered online questionnaire contained three sections. The study got ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee at the University of Baghdad. Results: The results showed that 26.8% of the participants reported knowledge regarding identifying all risk factors. In addition, 18.4% and 34.8% of the participants recognized all symptoms and mentioned all possible consequences of stroke, respectively. Previous medical history with chronic diseases had essential relationships with the response when faced with a person having an acute stroke. In addition, there was a significant relationship between gender, smoking history, and identification of early stroke symptoms. Conclusion: There was a lack of knowledge about risk factors for stroke among the participants. There is a need for an awareness program among the Iraqi people to raise their understanding of stroke that can reduce stroke mortality and morbidity.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior about Antimicrobial Use and Resistance among Medical, Nursing and Pharmacy Students in Jordan: A Cross Sectional Study.

The present study aimed to survey medical, nursing and pharmacy students' knowledge, attitude and practice regarding antimicrobial use and resistance. Additionally, the study assessed the teaching and assessment activities received regarding antibiotic use. A cross sectional online survey was distributed to undergraduate students currently in clinical studies in their degree program. A total of 716 medicine, nursing and pharmacy undergraduate students were included. Respondents scored more than 76% on knowledge on effective use, unnecessary use and associated side effects of antibiotics, and 65.2% regarding knowledge on the spread of antibiotic resistance. Some participants (21.0%) agreed or strongly agreed that there has been good promotion of prudent antimicrobial use. Students were aware (13.1%), unaware (29.1%), or unsure (57.8%) that there is a national action plan relating to antimicrobial resistance. A total of 62.8% of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that they have a key role in helping control antibiotic resistance. Participants reported that they require more information about resistance to antibiotics (53.9%), medical conditions for which antibiotics are used (51.7%) and how to use antibiotics (51.0%). Discussion of clinical cases and vignettes and small group teaching were reported as very useful or useful teaching strategies (79.9% and 74.2%, respectively). The findings from this study determined the current situation in relation to education on prudent antimicrobial use for undergraduates and highlighted areas for informing better curriculum design.

Strategic job market-guided development of pharmacy bachelor's curriculum and its importance in maintaining the profession viability in the Middle Eastern countries: Colleges of pharmacy in the UAE as a model.

The Middle East has high youth population; however, it is challenged by uncertain economic situation. Higher education plays a crucial role in the development of nations by equipping generations with the knowledge and skill through cumulative curriculum development. Like other professions, pharmacy is a dynamic field of study where continuous improvements are required to keep the viability of the profession and endow future generations with up to date skills. This article describes a strategy for pharmacy curriculum development considering four layers. The strategy starts from the understanding of the current situation in a university, looking into national, international accreditations and job market. The strategy covers development from program to subject's level. The strategy is applied to pharmacy programs in the UAE. Upon analysis, several recommendations were obtained for curriculum improvements. At individual university level, there is a need to work on clinical oriented topics in the curriculum to fit with international accreditation and country's vision. Details on this can be taken form deeper analysis of job market and stakeholders in the UAE. On the national level, unifications of total credit hours for the degree across universities needs to be envisaged with limits on contact experiential hours. The strategy has the potential of extrapolating to other Middle Eastern countries.

Perceptions of COVID-19 symptoms, prevention, and treatment strategies among people in seven Arab countries: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUP: the widespread COVID-19 infection worldwide has resulted in the inability of healthcare facilities to receive all infected patients; therefore, most are treated at home. In addition, factors such as high mortality, types and severity of symptoms, and the prevalence of unreliable information have prompted patients to resort to self-treatment. OBJECTIVES: To assess prevention, treatment, degree of symptoms, and sources of information among patients with COVID-19 in Arab countries METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted in seven Arab countries: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, and the United Arab of Emirates. People who have recovered from COVID-19 completed the study questionnaire. Score of symptoms during and after COVID-19 infection has been calculated by giving the participants a list of 13 symptoms. RESULTS: A total of 3519 participants completed the survey. Mostly females (68.3%), and aged between 18 and 40 years old (59.4%). Prophylaxis treatments, including vaccines and antibiotics, have been used in around 40% of the participants. The total average score of symptoms during the infection period was found 7.31 ± 3.66 out of 13. However, the symptoms score upon recovery was low (0.48 ± 1.11 score). The significant associations with increased incidence of symptoms during infection were reported with older people, married, divorced or widowed, people with chronic diseases, and obese. Moreover, significant associations with decreased symptoms were reported with those who worked in the health sector, non- or ex-smokers, and vaccinated people. CONCLUSION: The use of medication and other treatments to prevent infection with COVID-19 was common among the participants in the seven countries. Taking the vaccine was the only effect on the number of symptoms experienced by patients. Although nearly two years have passed since the onset of the disease, there is still a need to raise treatment awareness among patients at home.

The rise of telepharmacy services during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comprehensive assessment of services in the United Arab Emirates.

Objective: The study aimed to explore changes in community pharmacies' processes in response to the pandemic in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and factors affecting the adoption of these changes. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to licensed community pharmacists in the UAE. The survey used to collect information on the type of telepharmacy services and related topics such as constraints and supports. The evaluation of services was done for three periods: before, during and after lockdown. Results: The number of completed surveys was 391. The majority of the participants were under 35 years old (79.5%), female (65.0%), with a bachelor's degree (82.6%), and working in a pharmacy group (70.6%). Pharmacies provided the services by phone (95.6%) and/or messaging applications (80.0%) such as WhatsApp and Messenger. The community pharmacies provided a variety of services using telepharmacy tools such as managing of mild diseases, dispensing and delivering prescribed and OTC medications, general health information, and services for patients with chronic disease. The main factors that had significant effects on several telepharmacy services were pharmacies' type (group/chain vs. individual) and the number of pharmacists in the pharmacy (p < 0.05). Lack of time, training and financial support were the main barriers associated with telepharmacy services among individual pharmacies. Conclusion: Telepharmacy supported the work of community pharmacies during the COVID-19 pandemic by facilitating the provision of pharmaceutical services. Although the occurrence of several financial and technical problems, it appeared less frequently in pharmacy chains with a large number of pharmacists.

Self-Medication with Antibiotics during COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region Countries: A Review.

Self-treatment with medicines including treatment with antibiotics is a growing global concern, as it can cause public health problems, such as antibiotic resistance and drug toxicity. Therefore, the significance of the self-medication impact of COVID-19 in any region can have an influence on the prevalence of such problems. The review aimed to investigate the self-treatment with antibiotics among the general population in Eastern Mediterranean region countries during COVID-19 pandemic. A comprehensive review of literature in four databases was conducted for the pandemic period from January 2020 to the end of March 2022. Nine studies related to self-treatment with antibiotics were found. The studies were homogeneous in terms of assessing the antibiotic self-treatment usage during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general population and among community pharmacies. The prevalence of self-treatment with antibiotics ranged from 20.8% to 45.8% between the studies. The main reasons for that were cost-saving, fear of COVID-19 infection, quarantine, and ease of accessibility without time limits. Antibiotic self-treatment has been high during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, it was less reported during the study period than before the time of the pandemic. There is a need for more restrictions on dispensing antibiotics from community pharmacies. In addition, there is a need to raise awareness among the population regarding self-treatment with antibiotics.

Telecare Service Use in Northern Ireland: Exploratory Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Telecare is a health service that involves the home installation of a number of information technology support systems for individuals with complex needs, such as people with reduced mobility or disabilities and the elderly. It involves the use of sensors in patients' homes to detect events, such as smoke in the kitchen, a front door left open, or a patient fall. In Northern Ireland (NI), outputs from these sensors are monitored remotely by the telecare team, who can provide assistance as required by telephone or through the emergency services. The facilitation of such rapid responses has the aim of promoting early intervention and therefore maintaining patient well-being. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to construct a descriptive summary of the telecare program in NI and evaluate hospital-based service use by telecare patients before and after the installation of telecare equipment. METHODS: An exploratory retrospective cohort study was conducted involving more than 2000 patients. Data analysis included the evaluation of health care use before and after the telecare service was initiated for individual participants. Individuals with data for a minimum of 6 months before and after the installation of the telecare service were included in this analysis. RESULTS: A total of 2387 patients were enrolled in the telecare service during the observation period (February 26, 2010-February 22, 2016). The mean age was 78 years (median 81 years). More women (1623/2387, 68%) were enrolled in the service. Falls detectors were the most commonly deployed detectors in the study cohort (824/1883, 43.8% of cases). The average number of communications (calls and/or alarms) between participants and the coordinating center was the highest for patients aged ≥85 years (mean 86 calls per year). These contacts were similarly distributed by gender. The mortality rate over the study period was higher in men than women (98/770, 14.4% in men compared to 107/1617, 6.6% in women). The number of nonelective hospital admissions, emergency room visits, and outpatient clinic visits and the length of hospital stays per year were significantly higher (P<.001) after the installation of the telecare equipment than during the period before installation. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the likely benefits of the telecare service in providing peace of mind for patients and their relatives, hospital-based health care use significantly increased after enrollment in the service. This likely reflects the increasing health care needs over time in an aging population.

The rise of telepharmacy services during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comprehensive assessment of services in the United Arab Emirates

Objective: The study aimed to explore changes in community pharmacies’ processes in response to the pandemic in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and factors affecting the adoption of these changes. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to licensed community pharmacists in the UAE. The survey used to collect information on the type of telepharmacy services and related topics such as constraints and supports. The evaluation of services was done for three periods: before, during and after lockdown. Results: The number of completed surveys was 391. The majority of the participants were under 35 years old (79.5%), female (65.0%), with a bachelor’s degree (82.6%), and working in a pharmacy group (70.6%). Pharmacies provided the services by phone (95.6%) and/or messaging applications (80.0%) such as WhatsApp and Messenger. The community pharmacies provided a variety of services using telepharmacy tools such as managing of mild diseases, dispensing and delivering prescribed and OTC medications, general health information, and services for patients with chronic disease. The main factors that had significant effects on several telepharmacy services were pharmacies’ type (group/chain vs. individual) and the number of pharmacists in the pharmacy (p < 0.05). Lack of time, training and financial support were the main barriers associated with telepharmacy services among individual pharmacies.Conclusion: Telepharmacy supported the work of community pharmacies during the COVID-19 pandemic by facilitating the provision of pharmaceutical services. Although the occurrence of several financial and technical problems, it appeared less frequently in pharmacy chains with a large number of pharmacists. (AU)

A global assessment of distance pharmacy education amid COVID-19: teaching, assessment and experiential training.

OBJECTIVES: To explore pharmacy colleges' experiences and challenges worldwide with the transition to online teaching during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: From the six World Health Organization regions, 28 countries with the highest number of COVID-19 cases were identified, and 111 pharmacy colleges were randomly selected from these countries. Two online surveys were sent to faculty members and senior administrators. They assessed changes in teaching and learning, experiential training, assessment, readiness for and challenges with distance e-learning and work-related stress. KEY FINDINGS: Data were collected from 46 colleges. The majority (80.4%) of colleges transitioned to distance e-learning. On-site experiential training was discontinued in 55.5% of colleges and 25.0% redesigned on-site training into remote learning experiences. Assessments were modified in 75.9% of colleges. Assuring the integrity of assessments and delivering practical classes were the most prominent faculty challenges. The majority of faculty (75.0%) and administrators (61.9%) reported moderate work-related stress. Nevertheless, most academics felt that they received adequate support from their institutions and had positive perceptions of the transition to distance e-learning during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic required drastic changes for most programs' teaching methods. Our results showed that educational institutions were somewhat able to support faculty and the needs of educational programs were largely met. However, academic rigour and provision of experiential training can be improved. Faculty emotional support and training needs were not fully addressed in these difficult times. These results shed light on how the global pharmacy academy has addressed the COVID-19 pandemic and help rethink crisis response models.

COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines: Do They Really Reflect Best Medical Practices to Manage the Pandemic?

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has been changing the world since December 2019. A comprehensive search into many COVID-19 treatment guidelines was conducted and reported in this article. This is a review paper to probe differences in COVID-19 managing strategies and explore the most common treatment plans among countries. Published guidelines from 23 countries and three references guidelines-until the end of 2020-were included in this article. The majority of COVID-19 treatment options were reported in this review and it includes antiviral drugs, antimalarial drugs, antibiotics, corticosteroids, immunotherapy, anticoagulants, and other pharmacological treatment. The presence of such information from different countries in a single comprehensive review article could help in understanding and speculation of variation in the recommended treatment in each country. This might be related to the cost of medications, the access to the medications, availability of medication that could potentially be useful in managing COVID-19 cases, and the availability/capacity of healthcare facilities. Finally, although there are various treatment groups listed in the published therapeutic guidelines worldwide, unfortunately, there is no evidence for effectiveness of most of these medications in reducing the COVID-19 mortality curve over more than one year of this global pandemic.

Electronic cigarettes' withdrawal severity symptoms among users during intermittent fasting: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Recently, electronic cigarette (e-cig) usage has increased significantly, making it a potentially effective smoking cessation tool. In Muslim countries, most people who use e-cigarettes fast the month of Ramadan, which results in intermittent fasting. This study aims to reveal the severity of e-cig withdrawal symptoms among users during this intermittent fasting period. METHODS: A self-administered survey was developed and validated to solicit anonymous responses from e-cig users living in Jordan, through a cross-sectional study design. Participants were recruited through social media resources. Severity scores of physical (out of 11) and psychological (out of 8) withdrawal symptoms for each participant were assessed and calculated for each participant, depending on the symptoms reported. RESULTS: A convenience sample (n = 523) of e-cig adult users were recruited. The majority of the participants were males (96.4%) aged between 18 and 40 years (86.4%). Many participants replaced tobacco smoking with e-cig (53.5%) in order to help them stop smoking. More than half of the participants experienced relatively weak physical (0.82 ± 1.78) and psychological (1.24 ± 1.89) withdrawal symptoms during the month of fasting. Most of the participants (63.2%) preferred to engage themselves with a busy schedule to tolerate the related withdrawal symptoms they experienced. CONCLUSION: E-cigs could play a vital role in smoking cessation among tobacco smokers during intermittent fasting. Ramadan offers a good opportunity for smokers to quit, as the reported physical and psychological e-cig withdrawal symptoms were found to be relatively weak. Awareness and behavioral interventions would help clarify the effect of e-cigs and help determine alternative ways to cease smoking.

The Era of E-Cigarettes: A Cross-Sectional Study of Vaping Preferences, Reasons for Use and Withdrawal Symptoms Among Current E-Cigarette Users in the United Arab Emirates.

Electronic cigarette (E-cig) use has increased substantially among the young population, who adopt using E-cig for various reasons. Our present study aimed to explore vaping preferences and reasons for using E-cig among current users in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and to assess physical and psychological symptoms experienced while using E-cig during intermittent fasting. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 23 to May 22, 2020, to solicit responses from current E-cig users in the UAE. Data were collected about sociodemographic profile, tobacco cigarette smoking, vaping preferences, reasons for use, and withdrawal symptoms during fasting in Ramadan. A convenience sample of 591 adult E-cig users were initially recruited, of whom 392 participants with complete responses were included in our analysis. The majority of participants were males (n = 275, 70.2%) and around 28.6% (n = 112) were dual users. Vape tank/Box-mod was the most used type of E-cig (50.3%). Most of the participants (n = 317; 80.9%) believed that E-cigs are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes. During fasting time, around 46.2% (n = 181) of E-cig users have experienced various physical symptoms, while 51.0% (n = 200) of users have experienced various psychological symptoms. E-cig use is gaining popularity within the UAE after the recent legalization as these devices are commonly advertised and claimed by manufacturers to aid smoking cessation. The effectiveness of E-cig in aiding smoking cessation should be investigated with a higher level of evidence, especially in a new context of usage as the UAE, considering various types of devices, hundreds of E-liquid brands, and the influence of concurrent poly-tobacco use.

Perception of adults toward electronic cigarettes: a cross-sectional study from Jordan.

INTRODUCTION: The rate of Jordanian tobacco smokers has been reported to be one of the highest rates in the world. The electronic cigarette (E-cig) has become an option, or an alternative, to tobacco cigarette smoking. This study was aimed to measure the perception of Jordanian adults toward E-cig use. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used. A self-administered survey was developed and validated to solicit anonymous responses from the study participants. A convenience sample (n = 984) was recruited electronically through social media platforms. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were completed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). RESULTS: More than half of the participants (53%) were females, and almost all participants had heard about E-cig (99.2%), mainly from their friends (40%) and social media (34.5%). About half of the participants were nonsmokers and around one-third of them (33.1%) were current E-cig users. The majority of the participating E-cig users had replaced tobacco with E-cig (56.4%)/All the E-cig users reported positive beliefs toward the E-cig as a safer alternative for tobacco smoking. About 45% of participants believed that the E-cig is helpful in tobacco smoking cessation, but should be highly regulated. CONCLUSION: This study illustrated a significant prevalence of E-cig usage among Jordanian adults. E-cig users perceived E-cig as a safer and cheaper alternative to tobacco smoking and that it helps in tobacco smoking cessation. However, health awareness campaigns are needed for the entire Jordanian community about E-cig use, related emerging health findings, and how to promote tobacco smoking cessation.

Knowledge and awareness about human papillomavirus infection and its vaccination among women in Arab communities.

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common types of cancer that affect females worldwide with hundreds of thousands of women dying annually due to this disease, mainly in developing countries. Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main risk factor for this cancer. There are no public awareness and national immunization programs in most Arab countries. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and awareness about the HPV vaccine among females in four Arab countries and their acceptance to receive the vaccine. A cross-sectional study was conducted in several Arab countries: Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Iraq. Respondents that fulfilled the desired criteria and were willing to participate in the study were asked to fill out the survey. Knowledge and awareness were assessed using 13 questions. Ethical approvals were given from the four countries. A total of 3658 individuals participated in the study; however, 2804 responses were included in the analysis and more than one third of participants (n = 1007) were aged between 18 and 25 years old. This study revealed poor awareness and knowledge of the participants about HPV and its vaccine among all four countries' participants with relatively better knowledge among participants from the UAE. Participants who are younger (18-25 years old), have a postgraduate education, have an education or career related to the medical field, or had a Pap smear in the last three years tend to have higher knowledge about the HPV vaccine compared to others. Poor knowledge and awareness findings in this study were expected, considering the lack of public education campaigns regarding the HPV virus coupled with the absence of the HPV vaccination from the national immunization schedule in three participating countries (Jordan, Qatar, and Iraq). It is recommended that there is a need to provide national educational campaigns about the HPV vaccine to the public in all Arab populations.

COVID-19 Death and BCG Vaccination Programs Worldwide.

Several clinical trials are being conducted worldwide to investigate the protective effect of the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine against death in healthcare providers who are working directly with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Clinical studies suggested that certain live vaccines, particularly the BCG vaccine, could reduce the mortality due to other diseases caused by non-targeted pathogens, most probably through the nonspecific effects (heterologous effects). By the end of May 2020, the available information on the COVID-19 pandemic indicated the great effect of the BCG vaccine in reducing the number of COVID-19 death cases. The occurrence of death due to COVID-19 was found to be 21-fold lower in countries with a national BCG vaccination policy than in countries without such a policy, based on the medians of COVID-19 death case per 1 million of the population in these two groups of countries (p<0.001, MannWhitney test). Therefore, it can be concluded that the early establishment of a BCG vaccination policy in any country is a key element in reducing the number of COVID-19 and tuberculosis death cases.

Factors Associated with Knowledge and Awareness of Stroke Among the Jordanian Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background and objective: Stroke is the second leading cause of death in Jordan and over the world. Knowledge and awareness towards stroke play a crucial role in the management and prevention of its complications. This study aims to assess the knowledge and awareness about stroke among the Jordanian population and determine factors associated with stroke awareness. Methods: This cross-sectional study through a web-based anonymous questionnaire that needed 10 minutes to be completed. It examined sociodemographic characteristics and recognition of the risk factors, warning signs, stroke consequences, and early response to stroke symptoms. Logistic regression analysis identified the factors associated with poor knowledge of stroke.  Results: A total of 573 Jordanian adults participated in this study. The participant's ability to identify at least one early symptom of stroke and the proper response to the symptoms were significantly correlated with the educational level (OR of 3.4 and 2.5, respectively). At least one consequence of stroke was significantly associated with different demographic factors such as gender, socioeconomic income, females versus males and those with medium income versus low income had significantly higher odds (OR of 6.6 and 4.1, respectively). Conclusion: This study revealed a good knowledge and awareness level about stroke among Jordanians correlated mainly with their educational level. Therefore, new strategies should be considered to decrease the prevalence of stroke in Jordan, including the need for engagement in enhanced awareness campaigns.

Onion juice (Allium cepa L.), a new topical treatment for alopecia areata.

Alopecia areata is a patchy, non-scarring hair loss condition. Any hair-bearing surface may be involved, and different modalities of treatment have been used to induce hair regrowth. This study was designed to test the effectiveness of topical crude onion juice in the treatment of patchy alopecia areata in comparison with tap water. The patients were divided into two groups. The first group [onion juice treated] consisted of 23 patients, 16 males (69.5%) and 7 females (30.5%). Their ages ranged between 5-42 years with a mean of 22.7 years. The second group [control; tap-water-treated] consisted of 15 patients, 8 males (53.3%) and 7 females (46.6%). Their ages ranged between 3-35 years with a mean of 18.3 years. The two groups were advised to apply the treatment twice daily for two months. Re-growth of terminal coarse hairs started after two weeks of treatment with crude onion juice. At four weeks, hair re-growth was seen in 17 patients (73.9%), and, at six weeks, the hair re-growth was observed in 20 patients (86.9%) and was significantly higher among males (93.7%) compared to females (71.4%) P<0.0001. In the tap-water treated-control group, hair re-growth was apparent in only 2 patients (13%) at 8 weeks of treatment with no sex difference. The present study showed that the use of crude onion juice gave significantly higher results with regard to hair re-growth than did tap water (P<0.0001), and that it can be an effective topical therapy for patchy alopecia areata.