Journal of Ideas in Health
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Infectious serology, how to test large series without pooling samples
Get PDFPooling samples for serological testing was used first during the second world war. It was described later as a cost-effective technique permitting large screening of populations, especially for new infectious diseases. However, the dilution effect is responsible for decreasing sensitivity, limiting its use in practice, especially in blood banking. In this paper, we describe a modification of the classic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) procedure, which permits the test of indefinite samples using just one well. Specimens are tested pure one by one without any dilution, so sensitivity remains unchanged. This new procedure is time-consuming but can be considered as a revolution in qualitative ELISA testing
Impact of internal displacement on psychosocial and health status of students residing in the hostel of Anbar University, Iraq
Get PDFBackground: Displacement in Iraq has been widespread and for frequent periods. Education was one of the most prominent victims of displacement at all levels, including higher education. This study aims to assess the impact of displacement on the psychosocial and health status of undergraduate students living in student accommodation of Anbar University, Iraq.
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from 3rd to 17th April 2017. Data was collected using a universal sampling technique. A total of 355 students (Response Rate: 82.1%.) completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 26 close-ended questions related to the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of students. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Descriptive data presented as the mean and standard deviation (±SD).
Results: The mean age (±SD) was 22.1 (±1.7) years (range 18-29). About two-third (240, 67.6%) of students experienced some mental disorders. Moreover, 25.1% of students confirmed that the mental disorders were negatively related to their level of performance in college, and the treatment was not available for 31.0% of them. Because of ID, about 45.4% of surveyed students had lost at least one academic year, and 17.5% began to smoke tobacco during the ID period. However, the social and psychological support was absent for about 57.4% of respondents.
Conclusion: Our results suggest an urgent and strategic plane to improve the quality of logistics, health, and infrastructure of student accommodation
What is going wrong in health research investment? post-pandemic lessons and the need for change
Get PDFThe emergence of a new dimension of consciousness after the COVID-19 pandemic might provide an opportunity to highlight gaps and inequalities in health research investment and to mobilize scientific and public opinion to change the way things are done. This analysis considers some lessons learned from the pandemic crisis concerning the priority of global health research, research in prevention and well-being, and international research cooperation. The question raised by these issues concerns the unfairness of health research funding, mainly dominated by the pharmaceutical and device industries. However, evidence shows that these companies shifted funding to late-phase clinical trials and away from innovation activity and global health priorities. On the other hand, public institutions continue to invest in basic science, with the majority of funds still focused on basic research and innovation. This direct relationship between industry and biomedical research disrupts the reliability of findings and biases the evidence. Several initiatives and efforts are shaping pathways towards health research independence from industry funding. We can propose the idea of industry funding without a direct relationship with researchers through a common pot managed by an independent international agency. Nevertheless, to promote publicly funded research, the scientific community must strengthen its position compared to industry-funded research through transparency and the scientific value of publications. 
Evidence-based decision making and covid-19: what a posteriori probability distributions speak
Get PDFBackground: In the absence of any pharmaceutical interventions, the management of the COVID-19 pandemic is based on public health measures. The present study fosters evidence-based decision making by estimating various “a posteriori probability distributions" from COVID-19 patients.
Methods: In this retrospective observational study, 987 RT-PCR positive COVID-19 patients from SMS Medical College, Jaipur, India, were enrolled after approval of the institutional ethics committee. The data regarding age, gender, and outcome were collected. The univariate and bivariate distributions of COVID-19 cases with respect to age, gender, and outcome were estimated. The age distribution of COVID-19 cases was compared with the general population\u27s age distribution using the goodness of fit c2 test. The independence of attributes in bivariate distributions was evaluated using the chi-square test for independence.
Results: The age group ‘25-29’ has shown highest probability of COVID-19 cases (P [25-29] = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.12- 0.16). The men (P [Male] = 0.62, 95%CI: 0.59-0.65) were dominant sufferers. The most common outcome was recovery (P [Recovered] = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.76-0.81) followed by admitted cases (P [Active]= 0.13, 95%CI: 0.11-0.15) and death (P [Death] = 0.08, 95%CI: 0.06-0.10). The age distribution of COVID-19 cases differs significantly from the age distribution of the general population (c2 =399.04, P < 0.001). The bivariate distribution of COVID-19 across age and outcome was not independent (c2 =106.21, df = 32, P < 0.001).
Conclusion: The knowledge of disease frequency patterns helps in the optimum allocation of limited resources and manpower. The study provides information to various epidemiological models for further analysis
Gender differences in the domains of job satisfaction: a questionnaire survey among doctors
Get PDFBackground: The impact of gender differences in the labor market cannot be neglected when studying job satisfaction among doctors. This study aimed to assess the gender differences in a ten-items Warr–Cook–Wall (WCW) job satisfaction scale among Iraqi medical doctors.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and June 2014 in Iraq. The multistage sampling technique was recruited to collect the data from 20 health institutions. A total of 576 doctors returned the self-administered questionnaire (response rate= 87.3%). Student t-test and the Pearson correlation tests were used to analyzing the data.
Results: Female doctors rated the overall job satisfaction index significantly higher than their peer male colleagues (P <0.001). Findings of student t-test showed a significant gender difference; women doctors appeared more satisfied than men in the freedom to choose the method of working, satisfied with their colleagues and fellow workers, amount of responsibility given to them, income, opportunity to use their abilities, hours of work and the amount of variety in the job. In contrast, the Pearson correlation coefficient results indicated a high satisfaction among male doctors than females in terms of recognition for good work (P =0.02) and the physical working condition (P =0.04), respectively.
Conclusion: Analysis of data based on indices rather than the only overall job satisfaction appeared as an efficient method to understand gender differences. The possibility of increasing the representation of women in recognition and awards may raise the level of job satisfaction
Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 among Iraqi people: a web-based cross-sectional study
Get PDFBackground: Iraq was among the first countries invaded by the novel human coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) after China. This study aimed to assess the Iraqi people\u27s knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Methods: A cross-sectional study recruiting an online self-reported survey conducted from 17-31 July 2020. Data of 877 participants have undergone descriptive, univariate, and multivariable regression analyses, respectively, to assess the differences in mean scores and identify factors associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19.
Results: Most of the respondents (78.8%) from the urban region, highly educated (69.7%), aged less than 45 years (61.2%), females (58.3%), married (51.9%), and 74.0% self-ranked health as good. Less than half (45.4%) were employed; however, the average monthly income was USD 400 or more in about 66.8% of them. The mean knowledge, attitude and practice score was 15.57 ± 2.46 (range: 0-20), 38.88 (SD = 3.57, (range: 11-55), and 5.13 (SD = 1.14, range: 0–6), respectively. Findings of regression analysis showed that higher educated (p< 0.001), urban residents (P <0.001), employed (P =0.040), and having an income level of USD 400 or more (P <0.001) were significantly associated with upper knowledge score. Female gender and employed respondents are significantly associated with positive attitude scores, but inversely respondents with an income of USD 400 or more are significantly associated with a negative attitude. Regarding practice score, the female gender and those living in an urban region had better practice, but the young age group (0-44 years) was significantly associated with the weak practice.
Conclusion: Although Iraq has adopted a preventive and precautionary plan to control the spread of coronavirus. However, the public\u27s knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19, coupled with the unstable political and security situation, have greatly affected the commitment to preventive measures
Conundrums of the second line health care workers during the time of a pandemic: analytical solutions based on the experience from a developing country
Get PDFThe COVID 19 pandemic has affected the entire world, and it is continuing to spread morbidity, mortality, and chaos. The second line of health care workers who are not treating the COVID 19 infected patients also plays a significant role during this pandemic by treating other diseases and screening for COVID 19 infection. Nevertheless, many of them still struggle to identify and understand their role, lost between the idea of self-protection and principles of medical ethics. This article is trying to break the ice by solving a few common conundrums based on India\u27s experiences
To which extent a convalescent plasma therapy could be a benefit for COVID-19 patients?
Get PDFThe emergence of an unprecedented pandemic SARS-COV-2 caused perplexed in the medical community because of a high infection rate and rising mortality among COVID-19 patients. Till now, there is no particular treatment for the disease; nevertheless, there is an extensive effort from scientists to find out an immediate therapeutic plan to show how to deal with the current situation. One of the solutions currently presented is Convalescence plasma (CP). Through this narrative review, we will shed light on CP\u27s efficiency as a therapeutic agent for COVID-19, especially there is no proven vaccine or antiviral available up to date. CP could be considered one of the therapeutic approaches, but some limitations are still considered before it is established as a therapeutic agent. Along with evaluating CP from blood donors, the plasma companies could take future steps by manufacturing a target dose of globulins that contain standardized antibody, to reach the terms of health setting administering therapy
Knowledge, attitude, and practice of mothers about complementary feeding for infants aged 6-12 months in Anbar Province, Iraq
Get PDFBackground: The understanding of what mothers think about breastfeeding helps in developing successful breastfeeding promotion programs. This study aims to assess the maternal knowledge, attitude, and practice about the complementary feeding for infants aged 6-12 months.
Methods: A cross-sectional study designed to interview 219 mothers with children between 6-12 months. Data was collected between 1st March and 30th April 2019 from ten maternal and child health clinics (MCHCs) in Anbar Province, Iraq. SPSS version 16.0 was recruited to analyze the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as Chi-square used to present data with the significance level set at less than 0.05.
Results: The mean age of respondents was 27.76 ± 6.3 years, and 31% were at the primary school level. Two third (66.82%) of the surveyed mothers exclusively used breastfeeding to feed their infants. Most women (84.09%) have the correct knowledge about the best time to start complementary food. The vast majority of women (93.64%) refused to give vitamins to children even with signs of malnutrition.
Conclusion: Although exclusive breastfeeding is common among mothers of the western region in Iraq, there is still a considerable percentage depend on the mixture of breastfeeding and bottle feeding. The positive impact of the family and society on mothers was evident. However, more attention should be given to improve knowledge, attitude, and practice through qualified healthcare providers
Gender differences in the factors influencing the choice of future career among the final stage Turkish medical students
Get PDFBackground: Turkey has a marked increase in the proportion of female medical students and graduates doctors compared to males. However, females are still underrepresented in some disciplines and grouped in other branches of medicine. It is essential to regularly assess the medical students\u27 trends toward the specialty and avoid the shortage and maldistribution in some critical specialties. This study aims to investigate the gender differences in Turkish medical students’ specialty preferences and influencing factors.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among final year students at the Bezmialem Vakif University (BVU), Faculty of Medicine in Istanbul, Turkey. Data collected from March to April 2018 using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire included socio-demographic characteristics of the population, first choices for specialization, and the factors influencing those choices. An independent sample t-test performed to test the gender differences in different influencing factors. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.
Results: A total of seventy (70) students (response rate of 69.5 %) included in the data analysis. The mean age of total respondents was 24.9 ± 0.96 (ranged 23-27), and the male to female ratio of students was approximately 1:1.4. Out of nineteen (19) factors, statistically significant gender differences noted in the mean scores of six factors. Male students were more influenced by family expectations (2.76 ± 0.87, p=0.008), geographical consideration (2.97 ± 0.91, p=0.053), and high income expectations (2.90 ± 0.90, p=0.024) compared to female students. However, female students were more influenced by personal interests (3.61 ± 0.49, p=0.041), personality characteristics (3.59 ± 0.55, p=0.010) and malpractice (2.73 ± 1.03, p=0.015) compared to male students.
Conclusion: There is a significant difference between the sexes in terms of priorities; family, income, and geographical distribution significantly impacted on men, while women were more concerned with lifestyle, well-being and avoiding responsibility