|
From
the Editor
..........................................................................................................................
Abdul Abyad,
MD, MPH, MBA, AGSF, AFCHSE (Chief Editor)
Address correspondence
to:
Abdul Abyad, MD, MPH, MBA, AGSF, AFCHSE (Editor)
Abyad Medical Center & Middle East Longevity
Institute
Azmi Street, Abdo Center, 2nd Floor
PO BOX 618, Tripoli LEBANON
Tel & Fax: 961 6 443684/5/6
Email: aabyad@cyberia.net.lb
Web: www.amc-lb.com
.........................................................................................................................
We congratulate Dr. Mona Alshaik Almahmood
from Bahrain, who has been selected as MEJFM
Middle East Doctor of the Year.
This is the first issue this year and we would
like to wish our readers happy start of the
year and for all the supporter of the journal.
This is the seventh year for the journal and
the journal has gained wide success in the region
and we look forward for continuous improvement
with the help of our editorial team , the production
team and our readers.
In this issue a descriptive study from Saudi
Arabia used a questionnaire to investigate students'
knowledge of and attitudes to HIV/AIDS. A total
of 600 questionnaires were distributed randomly
to students at four high schools (two girls'
and two boys'). Despite the majority of high
school students correctly identified the main
modes of HIV/AIDS transmission, there was a
relative deficiency in their knowledge about
the disease. The authors concluded that there
is need to provide students with correct information
on HIV/AIDS infection.
A paper from Iraq looked KAP Survey of Knowledge,
Attitudes and Practices Enhanced Response to
TB ACSM, Iraq. The authors stressed that Iraq
is one of the high TB burden countries in the
eastern Mediterranean region with the highest
tuberculosis burden. The estimated incidence
of all TB forms accounted for 56/100000 population
in 2006(Global TB report 2008). The authors
stressed that Iraq has implemented its National
TB Program (NTP) according to WHO guidelines
since the late seventies. This program included
BCG compulsory vaccination for infants, DOTS
strategy in treatment of active cases with screening,
prophylaxis and treatment of latent TB cases.
A retrospective cross-sectional study from
Ministry of health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
analyzed referrals from employee's health clinic
to specialty care, at a teaching hospital in
Riyadh city. The authors found that family physicians
tend to manage more health related problems
by themselves and refer less to specialist care.
The results of this study can be used as an
aid for decision makers in the health services
for determining policy and determine which services
are overstaffed or in need of additional resources.
The second statistical paper looked at Direct
and indirect standardization methods. The author
stressed that Spatial data visualisation is
the accurate description of data taking into
account the component of space. Although plots
of data such as box plot are among the fundamental
tools for data visualisation in general, for
the spatial data visualising maps are the most
important tools. One necessary step in producing
a map is to standardise the rates of disease
mortality and morbidity. The aim of the present
article, which is the second article in a series
of two, is to discuss the pros and cons of two
most important ways of standardisation i.e.
direct and indirect methods using a hypothetical
example.
A paper from Hawler medical university looked
at the Efficiency of seminal fructose estimation
as a marker of seminal fluid colonization with
bacteria.
A prospective study was carried out on eighty
five infertile men, and the results were compared
with twenty six fertile men. The authors concluded
that estimation of seminal fluid fructose is
not an efficient marker for the presence of
bacterial colonization in the semen.
A cross sectional questionnaire attempted to
measure the level of health promotion practice
among primary care physicians in Qatar. The
authors concluded that although health promoting
health is one of the key role primary care physicians,
the current practice rate remains low. More
training and incentives concerning health promotion
intervention is required for physicians in order
to contribute effectively to health promotion.
A paper from King Hussein Medical Centre looked
at FNA as an indication for thyroid surgery
without the need for further investigations.
A total of 100 patients with clinical thyroid
nodules were studied. The authors concluded
that F.N.A is reliable, highly accurate and
aids in selection of patients for thyroid surgery
and decrease also the need for other investigations
namely thyroid isotope scan.
|
