Effect of a family-based lifestyle intervention on weight reduction among Jordanian children with obesity aged 6-9 years.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a family-based lifestyle intervention on reducing body weight among Jordanian children with obesity aged 6-9 years old. The pretest-posttest control group design was conducted among 162 children (75 in the intervention group and 87 in the control group) with obesity aged 6-9 years old at four primary schools in Jordan during the period from March 2021 to July 2021. The results found that, after the intervention, there was a statistically significant change in the F scores in the control group vs. in the intervention group (M = 37.07, SD = 2.77; M = 33.48, SD = 2.73; t (160) = 8.29, P < 0.001), where the mean BMI percentile was reduced by 2.05 in the intervention group. A significant difference was demonstrated in the median BMI percentile in the intervention and control groups post-intervention (P < 0.001). A significant difference was also noticed between the average weekly reported dietary habits and the physical activities of both the control group and the intervention group post-intervention. The findings support the effect of family-based lifestyle interventions. Healthcare providers should adopt such interventions for children living with obesity. Future study is required to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of this intervention on weight reduction.

Nurses' Self-Efficacy, Confidence and Interaction With Patients With COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to evaluate nurses' self-efficacy, confidence, and nurse-patient interaction during caring of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: A cross-sectional design with online survey was used with a Self-efficacy scale, Self-confidence scale, and Caring nurse-patient interaction scale: 23-item Version-Nurse (CNPI-23 N). RESULTS: A sample of 120 nurses participated in the current study. The results showed that the participants had a moderate level of self-efficacy, self-confidence and interaction (M = 28.84 (SD = 7.7), M = 47.41 (SD = 9.0), and M = 93.59 (SD = 16.3), respectively). Positive relationships were found between nurse' self-efficacy, self-confidence, and nurse-patient interaction (r = 0.81; P < 0.0001 and 0.79; P < 0.0001, respectively). Significant differences were found in self-efficacy according to years of experience, academic qualifications and position (F = 2.10; P = 0.003; F = 3.60; P = 0.002, and F = 2.60; P =0.007, respectively). Furthermore, the results indicated that there was a significant difference in self-confidence and nurse-patient interaction also. CONCLUSION: Nurse educators and administrators should develop and implement further strategies, such as continuing education and training, compensatory payment, organizational support, and availability of protective measures to increase their self-efficacy, self-confidence, and interaction with COVID-19 patients.

Relationship between shift-work and life-style behaviors among emergency department nurses in Jordan.

Shift-work can alter the nurses' lifestyle behaviors, which negatively influence health. This study is purposed to assess the relationship between shift-work and selected lifestyle behaviors including, dietary habits, physical activity, and nicotine dependence among Jordanian nurses who work at the emergency department. A cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design was used. A total of 275 Jordanian nurses from the emergency department of Jordanian hospitals participated in the questionnaire. The results showed that 50.2% of the nurses suffered from poor dietary habits, 81.8% of them were physically inactive, and 65.1% had nicotine dependence. There was a positive correlation between shift-work, dietary habits, physical activity, and nicotine dependence. Therefore, the effects of shift-work should be considered when planning and developing interventional programs to enhance nurses' health and promote healthy behaviors among nurses workforce during shift-work.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavior Toward COVID-19 Among Jordanian Residents During the Quarantine Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey.

OBJECTIVES: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a communicable disease transmitted via respiratory droplet from 1 person to another caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of Jordanian people toward COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the paper explores the lack of perception and adherence to preventive measures toward COVID-19. METHODS: A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive online survey was used to explore study variables. A convenience sample of individual who are of Jordanian nationality, were aged 18 years or older, understood the content of the questionnaire, and agreed to participate voluntarily was surveyed. RESULTS: The average correct score of COVID-19 knowledge was 84.44% (12.66/15). In addition, knowledge scores significantly differed across demographic characteristics of participants. Moreover, 93.8% (1009) of the study sample had confidence that Jordan can win the battle against the COVID-19 virus. However, study participants acknowledged that they did not visit crowded places in recent days (91.6%), while 71.3% (767) wore masks when leaving home. CONCLUSIONS: The current study added a new knowledge that generally the Jordanian people during the quarantine period have a high knowledge and optimistic attitudes and practices toward COVID-19.

Quality of Oncology Nursing Care as Perceived by Patients With Cancer: Results From Three Arab Countries.

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction was defined as expectation and perception of the patients about real nursing care they receive. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of oncology nursing care as perceived by patients with cancer in 3 Arabic countries (Jordan, Oman, and Egypt). METHODS: A cross-sectional design with convenience sampling approach was used. A total of 517 patients with cancer (Jordan, 200, 38.7%; Sultanate of Oman, 137, 26.5%; and Egypt, 180, 34.8%) participated and completed the study's questionnaires including sociodemographic data and the Quality of Oncology Nursing Care Scale (QONCS). RESULTS: Moderate quality of oncology nursing care was reported by the participants. The overall mean for the quality of oncology care as measured by the QONCS-Ar (QONCS Arabic version) was highest in Oman (153.40; SD, 4.10), followed by Jordan (150.93; SD, 2.10) and then Egypt (148.0; SD, 3.80). The results were significantly different in the total score of the QONCS-Ar (F = 45.20, P < .001) among the 3 countries. The results also differed in all domains of oncology nursing care according to days of treatment and marital status. CONCLUSION: Findings are considered a baseline for future research and highlight the importance of evaluating quality of oncology nursing care as perceived by the patients with cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The results from the current study can be used to develop an interventional program focusing on the needs of patients and their perceptions of care.

Assessment of Temper Tantrums Behaviour Among Preschool Children in Jordan.

PURPOSE: A good understanding of children's emotions, activities, and needs should be promoted. This study assessed temper tantrum behaviour, including frequency, severity, duration, common behaviours, reasons, locations, contexts, and parent's strategies, among Jordanian children aged 24-48 months. DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used to conduct this study. A non-probability convenience sample was adopted to recruit 213 parents of children aged between 24 months to 48 months. All parents completed the Parents' Experience of Temper Tantrums in Children's questionnaire. RESULTS: Findings showed that about half of the children experienced weekly tantrums, however, half of the parents reported that mild tantrums were exhibited by their youngsters, with an average duration of minutes. The most frequently reported tantrum behaviour was 'screaming or shouting'. "Seeking attention" was the most frequent reason and most tantrums occurred when visiting someone else's home. Unfamiliar situations were the most commonly associated with tantrum episodes. The main strategies used by parents to lessen their child's tantrums were first, stating a consequence (e.g., timeout), and secondly, ignoring the behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: The results draw attention to significant aspects of tantrums, such as the duration, where children managed to maintain a tantrum episode for more than seven minutes on average. Tantrum behaviours, reasons, locations, context, and parents' strategies to control tantrums were significant in developing proper interv entions. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The findings of this study are of practical use in equipping parents and caregivers with the appropriate strategies to enable them to halt tantrums among children.

Factors Associating Vaccination Delay among Jordanian Children under Two Years of Age.

PURPOSE: This study examines the association between selected socio-demographic factors (gender, birth order, parents' educational levels, and parents' employment status) and reasons for vaccination delay among Jordanian children under two years of age. DESIGN & METHODS: A cross-sectional, prospective study was conducted in the three comprehensive public health centres in Amman Governorate in Jordan from January-June, 2019. The electronic vaccination record was designed to collect socio- demographic information and reasons for vaccination delay in children. This data was collected from the medical records of those children. RESULTS: The findings revealed that 150 (8.3%) children under two years of age were registered as vaccination-delayed cases. The factors associated with vaccination delay were age (Chi-square test [χ2] [6150] = 15.02, p-value [p] < 0.01), birth order (χ2 [6150] = 15.02, p < 0.01), mother's educational level (χ2 [2150] = 9.27, p < 0.05), and father's and mother's employment (χ2 [2150] = 7.89, p < 0.05; χ2 [2150] = 10.54, p < 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION: Timeliness of vaccination should be promoted to prevent illness outbreaks and provide specific protection for children, taking into consideration the significance of age and birth order. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Interventions and strategies need to implementation to reduce vaccination delay and improve timeliness.

Predictors of Chemotherapy Safe-Handling Precautions and Knowledge Among a Sample of Jordanian Oncology Nurses: A Model-Building Approach.

BACKGROUND: There are adverse side effects associated with handling chemotherapy; however, using safe-handling precautions can minimize or prevent these potential effects. Despite availability of international guidelines for chemotherapy handling, adherence to precautions is below expectations. This study examined knowledge of safe-handling precautions among a sample of oncology nurses in Jordon. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was employed that included a convenience sample of 153 oncology nurses. Oncology nurses from two hospitals completed the Chemotherapy Handling Questionnaire. Descriptive analysis, Spearman rank correlation coefficients, and regression analyses were performed to determine the predictors of precaution use when handling hazardous drugs among participants. FINDINGS: We observed that age, number of patients for whom the worker administered chemotherapy per day, the number of patients receiving chemotherapy per day in the participant's work unit, nurses' knowledge about safe-handling precautions, perceived risk, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, organization influence/workplace safety climate, conflict of interest, and interpersonal influences were predictors of use of safe-handling precautions (adjusted R2 = .66, p < .001). CONCLUSION/APPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: Several predictors for using safe-handling precautions were identified. Clinically, chemotherapy handling procedures should be evaluated frequently to identify barriers to safe practices and to improve worker safety.

Predictors of job satisfaction of registered nurses providing care for older adults.

BACKGROUND: The population worldwide is ageing. This has required the nursing profession to respond to the growing demands of providing nursing care to this population. PURPOSE: To identify predictors of job satisfaction among registered nurses providing care for older adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional correlational design was used with a convenience sample of nurses. The Quality Work Competence Questionnaire, Job Satisfaction Scale and Nurses' Occupational Stress Scale were used to measure study variables. Descriptive statistics and multiple regressions were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The study included 500 nurses; and 68% dissatisfied with their job. Nurses were mostly dissatisfied with the physical conditions in which they work (55.2%) and the rate of payment (50.2%). Physical strain demonstrated the highest positive correlation with nurses' satisfaction (r = .36). More years of experience, skills and employee development, high nurses' competence, and more physical strain predicted high job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Job dissatisfaction among nurses providing care for older adults is high and is influenced by nurses' experience, professional development, competency and physical strain. IMPLICATIONS: Health care organisations should apply strategies that enhance the development of the professional competency of their nursing staff.

Quality of life, care needs, and information needs among patients diagnosed with cancer during their treatment phase.

Proper assessment of patients' needs might enhance patients' outcomes, ability to cope with new challenges, identify required resources, prioritize service needs, determine patients with higher need levels, and improve patients' quality of life. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. Total of 113 patients from different settings completed the study surveys including demographic sheet, Short-form cancer needs questionnaire (CNQ-SF), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G), and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-INFO 25). Regression analysis indicated that care needs and information needs were predictors of QOL (R2 = 0.688, adjusted R2 = 0.61, F (1.17, p < 0.001)). A significant correlation exists between QOL, care needs and information needs. Daily nursing practices should include assessing patients; care needs, information needs, and QOL through using valid and reliable scales.

An explorative study of workplace violence against nurses who care for older people.

Aim: To explore the prevalence of workplace violence among nurses who care for older people and its association with working stress, job satisfaction and quality of care in Jordan. Design: A cross-sectional design was used. Methods: A cluster random sampling was used to select three public hospitals, three private hospitals and 17 healthcare centres in Amman, Jordan. The researcher used a convenience sampling method to select 485 nurses. Data were collected between 2015-2016. Results: Almost 60% of the participants have been victims of violence at the workplace during the past year. Nurses who consider violence a problem at work have high levels of working stress (p < .01) as well as lower levels of quality of care (p < .01) and job satisfaction (p < .001).

Knowledge and Attitudes of Young People toward Mental Illness: A Cross Sectional Study.

The aim of the study was to investigate young Jordanians' knowledge and attitudes toward people who have a mental illness. A cross sectional design was utilized. A convenient sample of 858 participants aged between 15-24 years old completed a survey. Participants under 19 years were accessed through their schools and those 19 years and above were accessed through universities. Results showed that although the majority of university and school students' responses were generally consistent, they disagreed on 11 items on the survey; for example, 186 (39.3%) of university students agreed that mental illness has a biological origin compared with only 119 (30%) of school students. The majority of young people 737 (85.9%) were willing to learn and 792 (92.3%) felt that they have to help people with mental illness, which make them willing to learn. In conclusion, the findings provide insights for decision makers and researchers in Jordan about young peoples' knowledge and attitudes toward mental illness. Increasing young adults' literacy through introducing educational programs such as mental health first aid courses will enrich their knowledge; help change attitudes and reduce stigma toward people living with mental illness.

Predictors of nurses' stress working with older people admitted to acute care setting.

AIM: To identify the predictors of nurses' work stressors who care for older people (i.e., over age 65 years) in Jordan. BACKGROUND: Nurses sometimes experience stress which could occur as results of caring for older people, for example, with multiple physical and psychological needs. This stress could affect the job satisfaction and reduce the quality of care provided to older people. Thus, identifying sources of stress and predictors that cause stress for nurses is required to enhance quality of care for older people. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design. METHODS: Cluster random sampling was used to select study settings (i.e., 3 public hospitals, 3 private hospitals and 17 healthcare centres) in Amman, Jordan. A convenience sampling method was used to select 485 nurses. The Quality-Work-Competence questionnaire and Nurses' Working Life Questionnaire were used. Multiple linear regressions were used to identify predictors of job stress for nurses providing care for older people. The data were collected between June 2016 and January 2017. RESULTS: Job satisfaction, competence, development skills, gender, organisational climate and employee development, all have demonstrated significant correlations with stress. The regression analysis showed that the model significantly predicted a sizable portion of variance (R2  = 0.27, p < 0.001) in the physical and psychological stress among nurses working in the older people care settings. CONCLUSION: The nursing profession and the employing agencies should support nurses who care for older people in practice by conducting special training programmes to cope with stress. Interventional studies should be conducted to confirm the association between the nurses' work stress who care for older people and job satisfaction, competence, development skills, gender, organisational climate and employee development. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: It is recommended that rotating appropriate competent nurses who care for older people, in particular dementia patients who are usually very ill may have greater needs due to their cognitive status, through other wards would temporarily reduce the nurses' stress. The nursing profession and the employing agencies should support nurses who care for older people in practice by conducting special training programmes focusing on the teaching skills and knowledge of how to deal with stress.

The relationship between plasma ferritin levels and body mass index among adolescents.

Circulatory Ferritin concentration varies with age, sex, and body composition. Studies that determine the relationship of different body weight measurements with plasma ferritin concentration in adolescents are lacking. A descriptive cross-sectional design was utilized. Data collection involved self-reporting demographics, blood samples, and body composition measures for a sample of 814 healthy Jordanian adolescents. Ferritin deficiency was observed in 55.8% of the study population. Simple linear regression showed that BMI, gender, location, and smoking status 2.5%, 3.9%, 0.4%, and 0.4%, respectively, associated positively with plasma ferritin level (p < 0.05). After controlling for gender, location, and smoking status, additional hierarchal multiple linear regression showed that BMI explained 2.2% of plasma ferritin (p < 0.000). However, the obesity-stratified hierarchal multiple linear regression, showed that BMI explained 2.1% of plasma ferritin in the overweight and obese (HI) adolescents (p = 0.02), but not in the under and normal weight (LO) adolescents (p = 0.91). After controlling for gender, location, and smoking status, the ANCOVA showed that plasma ferritin level was greater (p < 0.000) in the HI (19.00 ± 13.6) versus the LO (15.20 ± 10.4) obesity group. Our results indicated that normal ferritin level among obese people does not necessarily indicate normal iron storage.

Effectiveness of a 12-week school-based educational preventive programme on weight and fasting blood glucose in "at-risk" adolescents of type 2 diabetes mellitus: Randomized controlled trial.

To assess the effectiveness of a 12-week school-based educational preventive programme for type 2 diabetes by change in weight and fasting blood glucose level in Jordanian adolescents. Sixteen percent of Jordanian adults have obesity-related type 2 diabetes and 5.6% of obese adolescents examined, however one-third unexamined. Rates in Arabic countries will double in 20 years, but this can be prevented and reversed by controlling obesity. A single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2 unisex high schools in Irbid, Jordan, in 2012. Intervention and control participants, aged 12 to 18 years, were visibly overweight/obese. They were randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 205) or control (n = 196) groups. At-risk students were assessed before and after the 12-week intervention, for change in weight and fasting blood glucose level following preventive instruction and parent-supported changes. Mean age of participants was 15.3 years with equal percentages of both males (49.4%) and females. Post intervention, the intervention group, demonstrated statistically significant reductions: mean difference of 3.3 kg in weight (P < .000) and 1.36 mg/dL (0.075 mmol/L) in fasting blood glucose (P < .000). School-based early prevention intervention effectively reduced weight and fasting blood glucose in Jordanian at-risk adolescents.