Rahma Al Hadhrami - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Rahma Al Hadhrami

Background Vitamin D deficiency, a circulating level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D <30 nmol/L, has becom... more Background Vitamin D deficiency, a circulating level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D <30 nmol/L, has become an emerging public health issue in recent years. Despite being a sun-rich country, vitamin D deficiency is widespread in Oman (87.5%). Aim This study aimed to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding vitamin D among university students in Oman to assess the need for additional awareness campaigns. Methods and sitting This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2022 and involved 399 students enrolled in various degree programmes at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Muscat, Oman, using self-administered, 38-item vitamin D-related KAP (D-KAP-38) questionnaire to collect information regarding the participants' vitamin D-related general knowledge, nutritional knowledge, attitudes and practices. Results Of the 399 college students, 384 (96.2%) were Omani nationals, 283 (70.9%) were women and 255 (64.1%) were between the ages of 20 and 26 years. Overall, the participants demonstrated moderate general knowledge (mean D-KAP-38 score: 77.3), poor nutritional knowledge (mean D-KAP-38 score: 45.1), moderate attitudes (mean D-KAP-38 score: 64.4) and average practices (mean D-KAP-38 score: 60.0). In general, female students demonstrated greater general knowledge (p=0.004) and more positive attitudes (p=0.007) compared with males; however, males more frequently reported better practices (p<0.001). In addition, participants who lived off-campus reported better practices compared with those living on-campus (p<0.001). Conclusions University students in Oman demonstrated moderate vitamin D-related general knowledge, attitudes and practices, while nutritional knowledge was poor.

Sultan Qaboos University medical journal, Mar 21, 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate knowledge, attitudes, and experiences in sharing unpl... more Objectives: This study aimed to investigate knowledge, attitudes, and experiences in sharing unpleasant health information and adherence to the SPIKES protocol among physicians at a tertiary hospital in Muscat, Oman. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) from August to October 2022. An electronic, selfadministered questionnaire was used to gather data from 400 physicians across various SQUH departments. Results: A total of 89 physicians completed the questionnaire (response rate: 22.3%). Most (96.6%) recognised the need for additional training in the delivery of unpleasant health updates, with 78.7% expressing their willingness to undertake such training. However, 32.6% reported negative experiences due to improper delivery of bad news, with an equal proportion admitting to disclosing unpleasant updates to the patient's family without their consent. The majority (86.5%) demonstrated a high level of overall adherence to the SPIKES protocol, with 59.6-85.4%, 12.4-34.8%, and 1.1-11.2% of physicians reported usually, sometimes, and never following specific steps of the protocol, respectively. Marital status (P = 0.015) and qualifications (P = 0.032) were the only variables to correlate with adherence level, with married physicians and those with board or fellowship certificates reporting significantly better adherence compared to their counterparts. Conclusion: Physicians in Oman encountered challenges in delivering unpleasant health updates, underscoring the interplay of cultural influences, training, and adherence to protocols. To address these challenges, targeted and frequent training programs are recommended, starting from undergraduate medical education and extending to continuous opportunities for physicians at various career levels.

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, Sep 19, 2023

A sthma is a pathologic condition of the respiratory tract characterised by chronic airway inflam... more A sthma is a pathologic condition of the respiratory tract characterised by chronic airway inflammation and variable airway obstruction. 1 This heterogeneous disease is one of the most common respiratory diseases in the world, affecting an estimated 262 million people worldwide and causing 455,000 deaths in 2019. 2,3 Furthermore, asthma places a significant burden on healthcare systems and communities in terms of medical costs, disability in daily life and hospitalisation. 4 Much of this is due to asthma attacks-also termed exacerbationswhich is one of the key domains used to determine asthma control in an individual. An asthma exacerbation is defined as an episode of acute or sub-acute worsening of asthma symptoms, including wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. 5 The prevalence of asthma varies from country to country. 1,6 According to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), the prevalence of asthma in Oman is in the intermediate range in terms of global rankings, despite the country demonstrating the highest prevalence of paediatric asthma among participating Eastern Mediterranean abstract: Objectives: Annual influenza vaccinations are recommended for asthma patients to prevent seasonal influenza and influenza-triggered asthma exacerbations. However, data on the beneficial effect of this vaccine on the frequency of asthma exacerbations are conflicting. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine in terms of reducing the frequency of asthma-related exacerbations and upper respiratory tract infections among adult patients with asthma. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was performed from January to December 2018 in Muscat Governorate, Oman. A total of 466 patients attending 9 randomly selected primary health centres in Muscat Governorate were enrolled in the study and followed up for one year post vaccination. Results: Most of the patients were female (70.6%) and had moderate persistent asthma (42.9%). There were 203 patients (43.6%) in the vaccinated group and 263 patients (56.4%) in the non-vaccinated group. A proportion of patients in each group had allergic rhinitis (28.6% and 25.5%, respectively). The frequency of upper respiratory tract infections over the one-year follow-up period was significantly lower in the vaccinated group than in the non-vaccinated group (37.9% versus 73%; relative risk [RR]: 2.299; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.834-2.882; P <0.001); however, there was no significant difference in terms of the frequency of asthma exacerbations (41.9% versus 45.2%; RR: 0.925; 95% CI: 0.750-1.141; P >0.050). Conclusion: The influenza vaccine significantly reduces the frequency of upper respiratory tract infections over the following year. However, it does not significantly reduce the frequency of asthma exacerbations among Omani adults with asthma. Further studies are recommended to support the protective effect of the vaccine in this regard.

Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free Diet [Working Title]

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic autoimmune disorder of the small bowel that is triggered by expo... more Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic autoimmune disorder of the small bowel that is triggered by exposure to dietary gluten. In paediatric, CD commonly presents with intestinal manifestations, while in adults, many present with more subtle symptoms and extraintestinal manifestations, such as anaemia, fatigue, dermatitis, and headaches. The main scope of this chapter is to explore and present the prevalence of CD worldwide as well as trends in diagnosis over recent years. The prevalence of CD is approximately 0.5–1% in different regions of the world. However, exact prevalence rates may vary substantially in specific populations. Although CD was formerly believed to affect solely individuals of European ancestry, more recent studies indicate that the disease may have been either under-reported or undiagnosed in other populations. Moreover, it is possible that the increasing popularity of Western dietary practices may have an impact on the recent trend of increased rates of CD in non-Weste...

Liaquat National Journal of Primary Care, 2020

Journal of Medical Education

Background: Entry into postgraduate medical training programs should be based on valid selection ... more Background: Entry into postgraduate medical training programs should be based on valid selection measures predictive of training performance. A situational judgment test (SJT) is often used during the residency selection process to measure knowledge and behavioral attributes. Objectives: This study aimed to test the validity of the International Foundations of Medicine (IFOM) examination and an SJT for predicting performance during multiple mini-interviews (MMI) of the applicants for a family medicine residency program in Oman. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB) during the application process for the academic year 2021. Data were collected from 80 applicants to the OMSB Family Medicine Residency Program. Before participating in the MMI panels, all applicants underwent pre-interview tests (comprising the IFOM examination and SJT). Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the predictors of the MMI score...

Coping Strategies among Students with Chronic Medical Illnesses in Comparison to Healthy Students: A Comparative Cross-sectional Study from Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to compare coping strategies among students with chronic medical ill... more Objectives: This study aimed to compare coping strategies among students with chronic medical illnesses in contrast to healthy students to understand their behaviours in response to stressful situations. Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted between September and December 2019 and included students attending nine colleges at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Muscat, Oman. Data were collected and compared between students with chronic medical illnesses and those who were healthy. A validated Arabic version of the self-reported Brief-COPE Inventory was used to determine mean scores for 14 designated coping strategies. Results: A total of 405 students participated in the study; of these, 229 (56.5%) were male and 176 (43.5%) were female. Overall, 113 students (28%) had a chronic medical illness. Positive coping strategies named religion, acceptance planning, and active coping were the most frequently reported coping strategies among all students regardless of their health status, while substance use was the least common. There were statistical differences between the two groups in using certain coping strategies. The students with chronic medical illnesses tend to use acceptance and emotional support more than healthy students (p-value of 0.001 and 0.008 respectively). However, the healthy students use self-blames and denial as a coping strategy more than chronically ill students (p-value of 0.008 and 0.029 respectively). Conclusion: In addition to the current resources available at SQU, encouraging healthy coping mechanisms and provide support to students with chronic medical illnesses are required to alleviate their stresses, especially for students with chronic medical illnesses.

Perspective Chapter: Modern Birth Control Methods, 2022

This chapter focuses on various modern birth control methods, including combined oral contracepti... more This chapter focuses on various modern birth control methods, including combined oral contraceptives, progestogen-only pills, progestogen-only injectables, progestogenonly implants, intrauterine devices, barrier contraceptives, and emergency contraceptive pills. Each contraceptive method is covered in detail, including mechanism of action, effectiveness, health benefits, advantages, disadvantages, risks, and side-effects.

Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 2021

Background The Communication Assessment Tool (CAT), a paper-based patient survey, is 1 method to ... more Background The Communication Assessment Tool (CAT), a paper-based patient survey, is 1 method to assess residents' interpersonal and communication skills. To further enhance the interpretation of the CAT, benchmark data are needed. Objective We sought to expand upon initial benchmarking data for the use of the CAT as an evaluation tool in family medicine residency programs. Methods Data were collected on 120 residents from 7 family medicine residency programs. Following an appointment with a resident, 1703 patients completed the CAT. Results The overall mean percentage of items rated as excellent was 73%. Significant differences were found in the overall percentage of items rated as “excellent” based on location of training (78% US graduate versus 71% international medical graduate) and native language of the resident (76% English speaking versus 69% non-English speaking). There were no significant differences found in the overall percentage of items rated as excellent based on ...

Introduction: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and β-thalassemia trait (BTT) are the two most frequen... more Introduction: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and β-thalassemia trait (BTT) are the two most frequent causes of microcytic anemia; however, differentiation between these conditions is of clinical importance for treatment purposes. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of red cell distribution width (RDW) versus red cell distribution width index (RDWI) as hematological discriminator indices to differentiate between IDA and BTT in an adult Omani population. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 at various primary health care centers in Muscat Governorate, Oman. A retrospective review was conducted of adult Omanis participating in the national premarital screening program. Identification of IDA and BTT was performed according to the diagnostic criteria of the World Health Organization. Subsequently, the validity of RDW and RDWI as discriminator indices to differentiate the two conditions were evaluated according to their sensitivity, specificity, posit...

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 2013

Objectives: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is emerging as one of the world's greatest health pro... more Objectives: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is emerging as one of the world's greatest health problems, and its incidence and prevalence are increasing at an alarming rate and globally reaching epidemic proportions. With this increasing incidence, emphasis is now being placed on implementing primary prevention, early detection, and educational prevention programmes. This study was undertaken to estimate the level of knowledge of T2DM among high school students and to explore the factors influencing the knowledge of T2DM. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in four secondary schools in two wilayats (districts) of Muscat governate, Oman, namely Al-Amerat and Quriyat. The study was conducted using a validated English questionnaire covering all aspects of T2DM in one-to-one interviews. A scoring system was used to assess the students' knowledge. Results: Of the 541 students enrolled in the study (45% male and 55% female), only 24% achieved a score of over 10 out of 20. The key areas of poor knowledge were wrong perceptions about diabetic meals (73%), and the possibility of a cure for diabetes (63%). Conclusion: Overall poor knowledge levels about T2DM were found among school students. National efforts and school-health-based interventions are highly recommended to increase awareness about diabetes among this age group.