Introduction: Tobacco smoking is a leading yet preventable risk factor for morbidity and mortality worldwide. As in western countries, the Arab world also encounters the growing tobacco epidemic. Assessment of smoking prevalence is a key step in identification of emerging trends, thus enabling planning of preventive measures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Professionalism, influenced by regional context and societal values, is essential in doctor-patient relationships, patient experiences, and clinical outcomes. However, formal education alone fails to cultivate professionalism effectively. Research highlights the hidden curriculum's detrimental impact on medical students' professionalism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a significant contributor to female infertility and other various metabolic disorders. This systematic review estimates the prevalence of PCOS among infertile women in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Methods: The study searched five databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and SCOPUS), from their inception to 2022 for observational studies conducted in GCC countries.
Womens Health (Lond)
January 2024
Background: Health literacy is the degree to which individuals can obtain, process, understand, and communicate health-related information. Health literacy among pregnant women, in particular, may have a significant impact on maternal and child health. In the United Arab Emirates, no previous studies have been carried out to investigate the health literacy levels of pregnant women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Breast and cervical cancers represent two important causes of cancer-associated deaths in females. Uptake in prevention towards these cancers remains low in the United Arab Emirates.
Objectives: This study aimed to understand the knowledge, attitudes and practices of females residing in the Al Ain city, UAE, towards cervical and breast cancer prevention.
Hum Vaccin Immunother
August 2023
Despite widespread availability of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), its uptake in many Arab countries is relatively low. This literature review aimed to scope evidence on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) in the Arab world. A total of 134 articles reporting prevalence of COVID-19 VH and associated factors, conducted in any of the 22 Arab League countries, were reviewed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNumerous intervention studies have attempted to increase cervical screening uptake among immigrant women, nonetheless their screening participation remains low. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarise the evidence on interventions to improve cervical screening among immigrant women globally and identify their effectiveness. Databases PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, PsycINFO, ERIC, CINAHL and CENTRAL were systematically searched from inception to October 12, 2021, for intervention studies, including randomised and clinical controlled trials (RCT, CCT) and one and two group pre-post studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Polycystic ovarian syndrome, a common endocrine disorder, is an important cause of infertility among women of reproductive age. Within the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, polycystic ovarian syndrome is found to affect women increasingly. No study has been carried out to critically summarize the evidence on the prevalence of polycystic ovarian syndrome among women suffering from infertility in these countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chronic diseases constitute a major public health problem in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Chronic diseases have been found to be associated with an increased prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms. Depression can have detrimental effect on the prognosis of the disease and quality of life in patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Cervical cancer remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among women from low and lower middle-income countries, as well as underserved population subgroups in high-income countries. Migration from South Asia to Australia has increased over the last decade, and immigrant women from this region have been reported as a subgroup, with less than optimal cervical screening participation in Australia. This study examined cervical screening uptake and associated behavioural attitudes among South Asian immigrant women living in Queensland Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCervical cancer commonly caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) imposes a significant burden in Asia. This study examined the awareness and knowledge of HPV, cervical cancer, and its early detection methods among South Asian immigrant women in Australia to determine factors associated with knowledge deficits. A cross-sectional internet-based survey was completed by a convenience sample of women (n=148), with South-Asian background, residing in Queensland during May-October 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
January 2022
Despite advancements in prevention strategies, cervical cancer remains a leading cause of death among underprivileged women. Although Australia has low age-standardized cervical cancer incidence rates compared with other countries, disparities exist in cervical screening uptake among certain population subgroups, especially those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. South Asian immigrant women have been reported to have lower cervical screening uptake than Australian-born women and those from other immigrant backgrounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsia Pac J Public Health
November 2021
Since the introduction of systematic population-based cervical cancer screening in Australia in 1991, age-standardized incidence of cervical cancer has halved. Given recent advances in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and screening, cervical cancer may be eliminated nationally within 20 years. However, immigrant women are not equitably reached by screening efforts.
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