Knowledge, perceptions and attitude of Egyptian physicians towards biobanking issues.

OBJECTIVES: Collection and storage of biospecimens and data for biobanking raise many ethical concerns. Stakeholders' opinions about these ethical issues are important since they can help in the development of ethical guidelines to govern biobanking activities. Physicians are among the important stakeholders since they contact potential participants and could be biobank users. The goal of this study is to evaluate the perceptions and attitude of Egyptian physicians towards ethical issues in biobanking. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was designed and distributed with the target group between November 2019 and January 2020. RESULTS: The questionnaire was completed by 223 physicians. While 65.5% reported hearing the term "Biobanking" before, 45.7% knew that there are biobanks in Egypt. Participants had a general positive attitude towards the value of biobanks in research. About 73% agreed that biobanks can share biospecimens with international research organizations, but only 42.6% supported collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, and 44% agreed to the use of user fees by biobanks. About 48% supported the use of broad consent in biobanks, and 73.1% believed that donors of biospecimens should be informed about results of research performed on their biospecimens. CONCLUSION: Although many Egyptian physicians heard about biobanking, they had limited knowledge about the existence of biobanks in Egypt. They had concerns about commercialization, use of broad consent and user fees. A knowledge gap exists among these stakeholders, which should be covered by different educational activities. Community discussions should start to reach consensus about the issues of commercialization and return of research results.

Prevalence, Associated Factors, and Consequences of Burnout Among Egyptian Physicians During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: COVID-19 has been recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and physicians are at the frontline to confront the disease. Burnout syndrome (BOS) is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. The objective of this study is to evaluate the frequency and associated risk factors of BOS among a sample of Egyptian physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Using Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey, a cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted to assess BOS among the target group. Results: Two hundred and twenty physicians participated in the study. The frequency of BOS among the research group was 36.36%. The possibility of development of BOS increased two times with the need to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) from participants' own money, with harassment by patients' families, and was less likely to develop in doctors with older age. While male gender was a predictor of depersonalization (DP), female gender showed a significant association with higher emotional exhaustion (EE). Infection or death from COVID-19 among colleagues or relatives showed significant association with elevated EE and lowered personal achievement (PA), respectively. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic added new factors to the development of BOS in our research group. Several measures should be taken to support physicians at this stage. These measures include psychological support, organizing work hours, adjusting salaries, and providing personal protective equipment and training on safety measures.

Knowledge, Perceptions, and Attitude of Egyptians Towards the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Global efforts have been exerted to prevent the spreading of the disease through political decisions together with personal behaviors, which depend on awareness of the public. The goal of this study is to assess the knowledge, perceptions and attitude of the Egyptian public towards the COVID-19 disease. We conducted a cross-sectional survey about these points, which was distributed among adult Egyptians. Five hundred and fifty nine persons completed the survey. The mean knowledge score was 16.39 out of 23, gained mainly though social media (66.9%), and the internet (58.3%). Knowledge was significantly lower among older, less educated, lower income participants, and rural residents. Most participants (86.9%) were concerned about the risk of infection. While 37.6% thought that their salary will be continued if they become isolated, 68.5% believed that it should be continued during this period. About 73.0% were looking forward to get the vaccine when available. In general, participants had a good knowledge about the disease and a positive attitude towards protective measures. This knowledge is gained mainly through novel media channels, which have pros and cons. Although the government has taken major steps to educate the public and limit the spread of the disease, more effort is needed to educate and support the lower economic strata. If a vaccine or a treatment is approved, we recommend a government control over its use to preserve the rights of the vulnerable and needy groups.

What Egyptians think. Knowledge, attitude, and opinions of Egyptian patients towards biobanking issues.

BACKGROUND: Biobanking is a relatively new concept in Egypt. Building a good relationship with different stakeholders is essential for the social sustainability of biobanks. To establish this relationship, it is necessary to assess the attitude of different groups towards this concept. The objective of this work is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and opinions of Egyptian patients towards biobanking issues. METHODS: We designed a structured survey to be administered to patients coming to the outpatient clinics in 3 university hospitals in Egypt. The survey included questions estimating the level of knowledge about the term "Biobank", together with questions about the attitudes and opinions about related issues. RESULTS: Two hundred and fifty-nine patients participated in the survey. Eighty-one percent of participants reported that they never heard about the term before. About 85% expressed that they would be willing to donate their samples for research and about 87% thought that sample donation did not contradict their religious beliefs. Fifty eight percent were willing to participate in a genetic research project, 27.8% supported sharing their sample with pharmaceutical companies, and 32.4% agreed to share their samples with institutions abroad. CONCLUSION: Although there is limited knowledge about biobanking among Egyptian patients, many had a positive attitude towards sample donation and didn't show religious concerns against it. However, they showed concerns regarding participation in genetic research and with sharing their samples across borders or with pharmaceutical companies. Public education about biobanking is possible, taking into consideration the specific cultural and legal framework in Egypt.

Attitudes to premarital counseling among students of Abha Health Sciences College.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore the attitudes of the students of Health Sciences College in Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) towards premarital counseling. METHODS: This study was conducted among the students of Health Sciences Colleges in Abha, KSA, during the 2nd semester of the academic year of 1999-2000. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to all available students who answered it under the direct supervision of the Heads of Departments. The questionnaire consisted of 3 main parts; the first part was regarding socio-demographic and scientific characteristics, the 2nd part concerned with attitudes towards premarital counseling while the 3rd part explored the preferred items to be included in premarital counseling. Data of the questionnaire were entered and analyzed by statistical package for social sciences. Association between categorical variables were tested by Chi-square test and considered significant if (P-value less than 0.05). RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-six students responded, giving a response rate of 70%. Seventy percent of students showed acceptance of premarital counseling while 13% rejected it. Legalization of premarital counseling was agreed on by 19% compared to 41% who refused it. Family history and blood tests for hemoglobinopathies were the most common 2 items preferred to be included in premarital counseling by the respondents. CONCLUSION: This study showed that most of the students at Health Sciences College in Abha, KSA have good attitudes towards premarital counseling in spite of a few students who justify their refusal by the misunderstanding of Islamic rules. This misunderstanding needs intensification of health education in which religious leaders are involved to clarify and correct this misconception.