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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
.........................................................................................................................
This is the ninth issue this year and is very
rich with papers from various parts of the Middle
East. The richness of this issue is that it
has various papers with different methodologies.
A cross sectional survey was conducted in all
21 primary care centers in Qatar in August and
September 2008 to measure patient satisfaction
with primary health care centers. The overall
satisfaction was relatively low. The highest
score of satisfaction for the aspect of services
was for accessibility, while the lowest was
for comprehensiveness of care. Qatari patients,
students, and housewives are less satisfied
with the current primary care services.
A cross sectional study from Kuwait University
attempted to assess the association between
obesity and body image avoidance behaviours
that correlates Kuwaiti female University students
and the predictors of such associations. About
30% of the female students were overweight and
obese. The authors stressed that the stigma
of overweight and behaviour among the university
female students compels them to practice negative
behavioural tendencies related to avoid social
integration.
Dr Khaled AM looked at whether topical administration
of dexamethasone 0.1% improves resolution of
acute tympanostomy tube otorrhea when combined
with topical ciprofloxacin 0.3% drops. This
study was done on 120 child patients aged between
2 and 14 years diagnosed with acute otitis media
with effusion for which myringotomy was done.
The author concluded that although the combined
topical ciprofloxacin 0.3% and dexamethasone
0.1% does not improve the final outcome of otorrhea
in patients with myringotomy for otitis media
with effusion, it has an important role in early
and rapid relief of undesirable ear symptoms.
A paper from Iraq looked at the impact of locally
published medical journals. The authors stressed
that Periodic evaluation of a journal's quality
is necessary to identify its shortcomings and
identify areas of improvement. The authors pointed
out that while the journal's contents and review
quality were generally rated as satisfactory,
the rate of reading the journal and journal's
impact is below satisfactory level. The accessibility
of the journal to academics and medical professions
needs improvement in both the print and online
formats.
Dr Bhajat looked at the health care system
reconstruction under the occupation of Iraq.
After 6 years the US -led occupation of Iraq
unleashed a civil war estimated by WHO to have
killed at least 100,000 civilians, and around
2 million Iraqi refugees have fled to Syria
and Jordan, while another 2.8 million people
have been displaced within Iraq. The United
State's agency for international development
(USAID) estimates that Sulaimaniyah province
has almost half a million internally displaced
people, the largest displaced population outside
Baghdad. As sectarian violence continues through
out Iraq I,ncluding in cities near Sulaimanyah,
like Mosul and Kirkuk, the US Government has
doubled spending on displaced people to about
$120 per person per year/ homes. In 2008, the
Government of Iraq offered grants of about $600
to families to return home. So far, less than
1% of displaced people have accepted that offer.
Dr Jahan F looked at the strengths and challenges
in clinical teaching. Clinical teaching and
learning focused on directly involving patients
and their problems. Clinical examination fulfils
several other important roles. Examination is
an integral part of the doctor-patient relationship.
Adult learning occurs when individuals engage
in sustained, systematic learning in order to
effect changes in their attitude, knowledge,
skills or belief systems. "Tell me, and
I will forget, Show me, I may remember, value
me, and I will understand. I discover and I
use (quotation by a Chinese philosopher Confucius
450BC).
A paper from Jordan looked at whether oral
Ibuprofen treatment is efficacious and safe
in closure of Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)
in premature infants with or without respiratory
distress syndrome. A total of 107 premature
newborns were admitted to the NICU during the
study period, of whom 47 had PDA proved by echocardiography.
19 newborns were excluded and twenty-eight newborns
were enrolled. The authors concluded that oral
ibuprofen is an effective and safe method of
treating hemodynamically significant PDA in
premature infants.
A case-control study was conducted to determine
the prevalence of adverse obstetric and psychiatric
outcomes among primigravid teenagers in AL-Ahsa
Governorate, Saudi Arabia. The sample consisted
of 158 primigravid adolescents and a convenience
sample of 632 older mothers. Antenatal morbidities
such as pregnancy induced hypertension, gestational
diabetes, anemia and antepartum hemorrhage did
not differ between the two groups. Teenage pregnancy
receiving adequate antenatal care and ending
in live births is not associated with significant
adverse obstetric outcomes or major psychopathology
in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
Welcome to the World Family Medicine Journal
(WFM)
WFM has been born from the Middle East Journal
of Family Medicine (MEJFM) and the South Asia
Journal of Family Medicine (SAJFM) and reflects
the international content and focus of those
journals as well as their Reviewers and Editorial
Boards.
WFM will focus on the diversity of family medicine
around the world and the real issues that affect
family doctors in their everyday practice.
We welcome articles on both big and small family
medicine issues and will provide special issues
with a regional focus. The journal will remain
peer reviewed and all abstracts will join the
free archive of IMI - International Medical
Index (see: http://www.internationalmedicalindex.com/
)
For more details contact the Chief Editor Dr
Abdulrazak Abyad
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