The journey of female surgeons in the arab region: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: In the Arab region, there's a dearth of research on female surgeons' experiences and challenges. To address this gap, a scoping review aims to map existing literature. It seeks to understand the hurdles faced by female surgeons in Arab countries and examine any gender biases in public preferences for surgeons. No previous reviews were conducted on female surgeons in the Arab region. By identifying systemic barriers, the review aims to promote inclusivity and support for female surgeons in the Arab medical community. METHODS: A scoping review was performed and reported using the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews. Five databases were searched which include PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and ProQuest. The search strategy included three main strings that are "Women" AND "Surgeons" AND "Arab Country". A priori-identified spreadsheet was used for data extraction. RESULTS: A total number of 23 studies were included in this review. The findings were categorized under several headings, such as the general public's preferred gender of surgeon and well-being, challenges, and experiences of female surgeons as well as career perspectives, choices, and satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: This scoping review explores experiences and challenges faced by female surgeons in the Arab region, emphasizing the need to address systemic barriers and promote inclusivity.

Development and Evaluation of the International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (ICCPR) Program Certification for Low-Resource Settings.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a proven model of secondary prevention, but new sites, providing quality care, are needed in low-resource settings. This study (1) described the development of International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation's (ICCPR) Program Certification and (2a) tested its implementation, considering (b) appropriateness of quality standards for these settings. Methods: The Steering Committee finalized 13 standards, requiring 70% be met. They are assessed initially through International CR Registry (ICRR) program survey and patient data; if Certification appears possible, a two-hour virtual site assessment is arranged to corroborate. Standard operating procedures for Assessor training were developed. A multi-method pilot study was then undertaken with a quantitative (description of quality indicators) and qualitative (focus groups on MS Teams) component. ICRR sites with post-program data by April 2022 were invited to participate. Two team members independently analyzed focus group transcripts, using a deductive-thematic approach with NVIVO. Results: Five CR programs from the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asian and American regions participated. Upon application, with some data cleaning, initially four programs were eligible to proceed to virtual site assessment. Ultimately, all five programs were certified, each meeting a minimum of 12/13 standards (peak MET increase and program completion rate were not met by some centres). Four themes resulted from the two focus groups of 13 site data stewards: motivation and benefits (eg, international recognition, additional program resources), logistics (eg, communication, cost, site visit process), the standards and their assessment (eg, balance of rigor and feasibility), and suggestions for improvement (eg, website). Conclusion: ICCPR's Program Certification has been demonstrated to be feasible, rigorous, and acceptable. Standards are attainable in low-resource settings. Certified programs reap benefits including additional resources. This first international Certification is suitable for low-resource settings, to complement that from the American and European CR Societies.

Barriers and facilitators of older adults for professional mental health help-seeking: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Older adults are at an increased risk for mental health issues, yet they are less likely to seek professional help. This systematic review aims to identify and summarize literature on the barriers and facilitators that older adults face when seeking professional mental health help. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using multiple databases including PubMed-Medline, EMBASE, ProQuest central, CINAHL and Scopus to identify relevant studies published between 2010 and 2021 that focused on barriers and/or facilitators to seeking help for depression, anxiety, and psychological distress among older adults aged 65 years or older. Studies' risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and results of studies were synthesized guided by the methodological framework of Rodgers and colleagues. RESULTS: A total of eight cross-sectional studies, from Australia, United States, Mexico, Netherlands, and Malaysia met the inclusion criteria for this review. Included studies reported that the majority of their participants had anxiety or depression, yet they exhibited a preference for informal mental health help over professional help. Stigma, negative beliefs about mental health professional services, and cost were the most reported barriers. Main reported facilitators were prior positive experience with mental health services and high socioeconomic status. CONCLUSION: Older adults are in need of interventions normalizing mental health help seeking and ensuring these services are accessible in terms of costs. This should be the focus of policy makers, healthcare providers, and public health practitioners working with older adults. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO 2021 CRD42021238853.

A scoping review of the risk factors and strategies followed for the prevention of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases during sports mass gatherings: Recommendations for future FIFA World Cups.

Objective: Sports mass gatherings of people pose particular concerns and place an additional burden on the host countries and the countries of origin of the travelers. It is imperative to identify how countries dealt with various communicable diseases in the context of previous world cups and identify possible advice for protection from outbreaks. Methods: A scoping review was employed in this study and a PRISMA extension for scoping reviews was employed to guide the reporting of this study. A systematic search was performed using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, SCOPUS, SportDiscus, and Google scholar. The search strategy included two main strings viz "communicable disease" AND "sport" AND "setting" as keywords for each string. A total of 34 studies were included in this review. Results: Information on risk factors for infectious diseases during FIFA, and recommendations for disease prevention in various stages of the event: pre-event, during, and post-event were charted. These strategies can be achieved with the empowerment of the public by enhancing their social responsibility and the coordination between the healthcare system, the ministry of public health, and other stakeholders. Conclusion: The findings will support planning for protection strategies to prevent any outbreak while having the FIFA World Cup or any other sports gatherings. A model was constructed to present the findings and recommendations from this review.

The relationship between smartphone use and dry eye disease: A systematic review with a narrative synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Emerging research findings suggest a potential relationship between smartphone use (SPU) and dry eye disease (DED), which has not been systematically reviewed. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to systematically review and synthesize evidence on the relationship between SPU and DED. METHODS: A systematic search of Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsychINFO bibliographic databases from their inception to January 15, 2021. Study screening, full-text assessment, study selection and exclusion, data extraction, and quality assessment was performed independently by at least two review authors. RESULTS: Four studies were included in the review (3 cross-sectional studies and 1 nonrandomized clinical trial). A narrative synthesis of findings was used due to heterogeneity among study designs and measures of association summarizing the relationship between SPU and DED. All included studies were conducted in South Korea and included school children, college students, or young adults. Three of the 4 included studies showed an association between SPU and DED. CONCLUSIONS: There is some evidence that SPU is associated with DED. However, this evidence is limited by a small number of studies of satisfactory methodological quality. There is a great need for high-quality studies to further investigate the relationship between SPU and DED and identify mechanisms underlying this potential relationship. This information is important for raising public awareness about the negative effect of SPU on eye health and development of clinical guidelines for this potentially emerging SPU-driven eye condition.