Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal最新文献

Background: Post-COVID-19 syndrome covers a wide range of new, recurring or ongoing health conditions, which can occur in anyone who has recovered from COVID-19. The condition may affect multiple systems and organs.

Aims: To evaluate the frequency and nature of persistent COVID-19 symptoms among healthcare providers in Jordan.

Methods: Post-COVID-19 syndrome refers to symptoms extending beyond 4-12 weeks. We conducted a historical cohort study among 140 healthcare staff employed at the National Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics, Amman, Jordan. All of them had been infected with COVID-19 virus during March 2020 to February 2022. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire.

Results: Some 59.3% of the study population reported more than 1 persisting COVID-19 symptom, and among them 97.5%, 62.6% and 40.9% reported more than 1 COVID-19 symptom at 1-3, 3-6 and 6-12 months, respectively, after the acute phase of the infection. Post-COVID-19 syndrome was more prevalent among females than males (79.5% vs 20.5%) (P = 0.006). The most frequent reported symptom was fatigue. Females scored higher on the Fatigue Assessment Scale than males [23.26, standard deviation (SD) 8.00 vs 17.53, SD 5.40] (P < 0.001). No significant cognitive impairment was detected using the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scales.

Conclusion: More than half (59.3%) of the healthcare workers in our study reported post-COVID-19 syndrome. Further studies are needed to better understand the frequency and severity of the syndrome among different population groups.

The February 2023 earthquakes in Syria and Türkiye The earthquakes that hit southeast Türkiye and northwest Syria in February 2023 have been the most devastating among several earthquakes witnessed globally in the past decades. As of 28 February 2023, it had caused the death of over 50 000 people and affected more than 18 million others. In northwest Syria alone, the earthquakes affected at least 96 communities and 35 sub-districts, damaging or destroying more than 10 000 buildings, including 48 health facilities, and leaving over 11 000 people homeless (4). More than 45 000 deaths and 85 000 injuries have been reported in Harim, Afrin and Jebel Saman districts, and at least 50 000 families displaced in Aleppo, Homs, Hama, and Latakia.

Background: Despite large-scale investment in health service delivery outsourcing, few studies have examined human resources for health (HRH) in Afghanistan.

Aims: To review the HRH situation of outsourced healthcare services in Afghanistan and evaluate nongovernment organization (NGO) investments in the health workforce.

Methods: Two questionnaires were used for data collection. One gathered information about the characteristics of HRH in 2020 and the other collected budgetary data for 2017-2020 to analyse budget allocation and expenditure by NGOs on the health workforce.

Results: A total of 25 262 (65% male, 35% female) individuals were employed by NGOs in 31 provinces of Afghanistan. There was a critical shortage of personnel and a prevalence of gender imbalance across all provinces. Healthcare workers were mostly aged 26 to 30 years. Services were mostly provided by local NGOs and their scopes were not limited to outsourced projects. More than 75% of the budget of NGOs was allocated to the health workforce in 2017-2020, and more than 70% of allocations was spent on staff salaries, followed by other health workforce expenditure. Less than 5% was spent on capacity building.

Conclusion: There is a gross shortage and large gender imbalance in the Afghanistan health workforce. It is essential to maintain and increase current financial and technical investments to ensure sustainability and enhance the fragile health system in Afghanistan.

Background: It is essential to study the availability of reproductive health services and the capacities of providers, to provide evidence for improving service quality.

Aims: To identify the role of midwives in the provision of reproductive health services and recommend improvements.

Methods: A national review of government health resources in the Islamic Republic of Iran was conducted to explore available reproductive health services. Through semi-structured interviews with 30 midwives, information was collected about the compatibility of services with the capacity and scope of the activities of midwives. A panel of 12 experts was assembled to develop a proposed service package. The content analysis method was applied to data analysis and interpretation.

Results: The service package developed covered 82 services that midwives can offer at the 8 healthcare facility groups. Although midwives were trained to manage a range of primary and gynaecological care services, certain essential aspects of reproductive health services were not being delivered on the frontline. These include sexually transmitted diseases and human papilloma virus management, diagnosis and treatment of common gynaecological problems, sexual education and counselling, and childbirth services. Midwives were not adequately engaged to provide reproductive health care at the secondary level.

Conclusion: There are drawbacks to the current reproductive health service delivery in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The service package designed and proposed in this study aims to strengthen reproductive health care services and planning and better integration of midwife-led programmes.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly globally, making the WHO to declare it a public health emergency of international concern. The ability of health institutions to screen and test for COVID-19 has been critical in detecting, preventing, and managing the spread of the disease.

Aims: This report documents lessons from the ambulatory care nursing for COVID-19 contact tracing at a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: In March 2020, a multidisciplinary team consisting of staff of the Primary Healthcare Services, Ambulatory Care Center, Infection Prevention and Control Department, and Nursing Services at the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, worked collaboratively to establish 2 dedicated COVID-19 contact tracing clinics away from hospital premises, one clinic established for the public and another for hospital staff. Surveillance system was established to detect and contain as many cases as possible. This report highlights the process of establishing and maintaining the structure and managing workflow of the contact tracing clinics. We calculated the number of nasopharyngeal swabs and the daily average number of patient visits for both clinics between March 2020 and March 2021.

Results: Over the one-year period, the clinics served 79 146 visitors with an average of 52 visits for staff, 159 visits for adults, and 16 visits for children per day. The 2 clinics conducted 73 924 polymerase chain reaction tests. There was zero transmission of COVID-19 infection to staff working at both clinics.

Conclusion: Despite the challenge of setting up contact tracing clinics, the decision to use separate geographic locations contributed to reducing the risk of infection exposure among staff of the clinics. Effective implementation of contact tracing interventions relies on interdepartmental cooperation and effective communication to contain the risk of viral spread.

Background: Nurses have a key role in ensuring the safety of patients, reducing the likelihood of errors and improving patient outcomes.

Aims: This study aimed to determine the factors affecting patient safety, with a focus on the culture and attitudes of nurses working in emergency units.

Method: This cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study was conducted between 10 January and 30 August 2015 among 282 nurses who worked at emergency units of 19 hospitals in the north-central Black Sea Region of Türkiye Data were obtained using descriptive information forms, the Patient Safety Attitude Scale (PSAS) and the Patient Safety Culture Scale (PSCS).

Results: The mean total PSAS score was 152.26 [standard deviation (SD) 22.54; range 46-230], while the mean total PSCS score was 2.56 (SD 0.52; range 1-4). Around a quarter of the participants reported errors, such as medication errors and patient falls, which threatened patient safety in the emergency units. The case report forms were not filled when these errors occurred.

Conclusion: Attitude and culture of nurses in hospital emergency units towards patient safety differed according to their sociodemographic and work-life characteristics, including being satisfied with working in the emergency room, quality of work-life balance, level of job satisfaction, and number of years working in the emergency room.