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Papers by Asharaf Abdul Salam

India's Low-Skilled Migration to the Middle East

Libyan Journal of Medicine, Mar 19, 2012

Topical antifungal treatments are difficult to implement in some institutionalized geriatric pati... more Topical antifungal treatments are difficult to implement in some institutionalized geriatric patients with oral candidiasis, due to physical or cognitive problems. Treatment of chronic atrophic candidiasis by incorporation of antifungal drugs into tissue conditioners has been shown to be efficacious in an in vitro study Gerodontology 16(2) 110-118). The most effective antifungal-tissue conditioner combination in vitro was itraconazole-Coe Soft. The purpose of this study is to assess clinical and microbiological effects of placement of antifungaltissue conditioner combinations for patients with oral candidiasis (n=14). Patients were diagnosed by Newton's Classification of severity and assigned to treatment and control groups. 5 patients had their upper complete denture relined with 1%wt/wt itraconazole oral solution in Coe Soft. 4 other patients received relines with either 3%wt/wt or 5%wt/wt itraconazole powder in Coe Soft. Intraoral photographs, swabs and rinses were taken at 0, 3, 6 and 9 days. Swabs and rinses were cultured in Sabouraud agar and number of colonies counted. 1% wt/wt itraconazole oral solution in Coe Soft was used since higher percentages of itraconazole oral solution could not be incorporated into the tissue conditioner. 80% of treatment group patients experienced bitterness from the oral solution. Patients that received the powder form did not experience bitterness; no nausea or other adverse reaction was found. Peak fungicidal activity was recorded after 3 days where there was a dramatic reduction in number of yeast colonies. This confirms the pharmacokinetic activity reported in in vitro study. The mean reduction in colonies/cm2 for the oral solution was 84% for swabs and 67% for rinses for the treatment group on day 3 as compared to baseline figures. The average reduction on day 3 for the powder form was 46% for swabs and 60% for rinses respectively. For both drug forms, there was regrowth of cultures after 6 days in some patients. In the population studied, treating Candidiasis by mixing itraconazole into tissue 4 conditioner is clinically effective. Due to the limited sample size, this study cannot stand alone as a clinical protocol. However, positive results of this pilot study is promising and a large scale study which compares this treatment modality with conventional and systemic antifungal agents is warranted to derive a protocol for patients with poor compliance. The peak antifungal activity recorded in this study at 3 days suggests that the mixtures should be replaced at this time for maximum effectiveness. This research was supported by Dentistry Canada Fund and MRC grant.

Surgical emergencies are a medical innovation in tertiary care. This discipline deals with manage... more Surgical emergencies are a medical innovation in tertiary care. This discipline deals with management of health problems caused by disasters and non-communicable diseases. Studies on surgical emergencies shall light into community health and hospital management issues. This cross sectional study is based on hospital records of a surgical emergency hospital in Benghazi city. A representative sample is drawn from medical records of 4 years (2002)(2003)(2004)(2005). A higher proportion of these patients were males; surgical emergencies to females were less serious or nonfatal. The most vulnerable age groups were 60 years and above followed by 25-49 years. It was injuries that caused more deaths as compared to non-communicable diseases.Surgical emergency conditions leading to deaths were associated with sex and age. Injuries caused more deaths among old aged. Causes and consequences of surgical emergencies not only light into the hospital management aspects but also it has relevance to community health management. Indian Emergency Journal / Vol-V / Issue-II / September 2010 SALAM, ALSHEKTHERIA: MORTALITY DUE TO SURGICAL EMERGENCIES IN BENGHAZI, LIBYA

Saudi Arabia, the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula, is going through changes on its demog... more Saudi Arabia, the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula, is going through changes on its demographic front; not only on fertility but also on growth, structure and distribution. Still, fertility and reproduction are the most prioritized aspect of demography not only because of the young population but also of the pronatalist population policy. Demographic achievements of Saudi Arabia are remarkable in terms of mortality rates and life expectancy at birth. A rapid growth, especially of expatriate population, and urbanization are considered as demographic challenges. Keeping these challenges in mind, an attempt at exploring growth, structure and distribution is made in this paper. Attempts are made to compare native and expatriate population, male and female population and various age groups. Census data was made use for this analysis. National Census of 1974Census of , 1992Census of , 2004 and 2010 were used. A significant growth of population especially of expatriate population combined with changes in age structure and geographic distribution was noted. Age structure of native population shows reducing childhood population and subsequent increasing adult and old aged population whereas that of expatriate population shows a increasing adult population. Changes in Saudi Arabian demography are indicative of transitions in birth and death rates. It is time for the country to adopt population based information driven development planning.

Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de santé de la Méditerranée orientale = al-Majallah al-ṣiḥḥīyah li-sharq al-mutawassiṭ, 2011

The increasing incidence of trauma due to road crashes and violence has increased the need for an... more The increasing incidence of trauma due to road crashes and violence has increased the need for an efficient emergency medical service. This cross-sectional study was based in a surgical emergency care facility in Benghazi city, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. A representative sample of 391 admissions and 492 deaths was drawn from hospital medical records over a 6-year period (2000-05). A higher proportion of patients were males among both deaths and admissions. Surgical emergencies for females were less serious and less likely to be fatal. The most vulnerable age for admissions was 25-49 years (37.6%) and for deaths was 60+ years (37.0%). Noncommunicable diseases were responsible for 50.0% of deaths and 61.6% of admissions; the remainder were classified as injuries. The causes of surgical emergencies not only highlight priority areas for hospital management but also have relevance for community health management.

Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de santé de la Méditerranée orientale = al-Majallah al-ṣiḥḥīyah li-sharq al-mutawassiṭ, 2012

Adolescence and youth are stages of life that other great opportunities for reduction of future h... more Adolescence and youth are stages of life that other great opportunities for reduction of future health needs. A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the physical, mental, emotional and social health status of adolescents and youths attending 2 large universities in Benghazi city, Libya, and to determine variables associated with their health status. Stratified sampling was used to select 383 students aged 17-24 years and data were collected by face-to-face interview and self-administered questionnaires. Major health problems were depression/anxiety and pain/discomfort, and these were suffered by significantly more females than males. Mental health was at the transitional stage in Dabrowski's emotional development theory (spontaneous multilevel disintegration). Females had higher levels of emotional development. Regular physical activity was practised by 34.7% overall (25.8% of women) and 17.2% were smokers. The main social activity was visiting family members.

World Family Medicine Journal /Middle East Journal of Family Medicine, 2011

Introduction: The Libyan National Health System (LNHS) is debated for its conflicting performance... more Introduction: The Libyan National Health System (LNHS) is debated for its conflicting performance versus impact. LNHS has poor performance but the national health statistics are registered to be high and competitive. There are concerted efforts to manage health care services and ...

Libyan Journal of Medicine, 2010

Introduction: The Libyan National Health System (LNHS) is debated for the paradox of its performa... more Introduction: The Libyan National Health System (LNHS) is debated for the paradox of its performance versus impact. It has poor performance, but the national health statistics are good and competitive. There are concerted efforts to manage health care services and to regain the lost trust. A primary health care (PHC) system that focuses on preventive and promotive care is the core focus of LNHS efforts. Objectives: To assess patient satisfaction with quality of PHC assessed in terms of (a) customer profile, (b) patient satisfaction, and (c) health care-seeking behavior. Methodology: A sample of nine health centers and seven polyclinics from various locations in Benghazi, Libya were selected for gathering information by structured face-to-face interviews. A total of 310 beneficiaries were interviewed by using an Arabic translation of the Charleston Psychiatric Outpatient Satisfaction Scale. Results: The beneficiaries appear to be quite satisfied with the quality of services. Geographical zone, marital status of beneficiary, and type of facility are satisfaction-related factors. There are preferences for facilities located within the City Centre over those located elsewhere. There is also an interaction effect of the geographical zone and the type of facility in creating differences in satisfaction. Conclusions: A customer-friendly facility concept that emphasizes reception, physician interaction, and cordiality shall add value. Polyclinics require more attention as does the Al Slawy area. A few utility services might also be considered. Keywords: exit interviews; Health For All by All; geographic zone; administrative and environmental factors; health-seeking behavior; interaction effect; type and location of facility; place of residence (page number not for citation purpose) ae ORIGINAL ARTICLE Libyan J Med

Libyan Journal of Medicine, 2012

Middle East Fertility Society Journal, 2016

SpringerPlus, 2016

Saudi Arabia, divided into 5 planning regions, 13 administrative regions and further to 118 gover... more Saudi Arabia, divided into 5 planning regions, 13 administrative regions and further to 118 governorates (administrative units), has diverse demographic characteristics from one region to another and from one governorate to another. Rural to urban migration and an exodus of immigrants characterize the Kingdom, where development planning depend largely upon local level requirements based on economic activities. An attempt was made to analyze the population characteristics, such as population size, sex ratio, native to foreigner ratio, and households and persons per households by keeping governorate as unit of analysis. Data of two census period (2004 and 2010) was used in order to explore the situation and track the intercensal changes. Large variations in population were observed between governorates and it varied from 3686 to 5,007,886 in 2010. Governorates are divided according to the number of native population demarcating urbanization, modernization and infrastructure. During the intercensal period, the number of small governorates reduced and medium and large sized governorates increased mainly due to population growth. The average population in governorates was increased in total and in the larger governorates during the period. However, we noticed a reduction in the average population size in the small and medium sized governorates. The size of native population in a governorate influences the sex ratio, the native-foreigner ratio and the persons per household as well as the variations within the group of governorates. Analyses of lower level data shall aid not only to understand the situation but also to support local development policies.

Springerplus, Aug 10, 2014

Road traffic accidents, the major reason for mortality in the world, continue to threaten human l... more Road traffic accidents, the major reason for mortality in the world, continue to threaten human lives. The situation of road fatality rates raises serious threats in countries that are on transition in terms of modernization and urbanization, e.g., countries in West Asia. Saudi Arabia stands on top among these countries, which cost high in terms of direct cost, indirect cost and disability-adjusted life year's lost apart from the lives lost. Such catastrophic incidences create burden on public health infrastructure and emergency health care mechanisms. Current day situation urges attention from all walks of professionals -medical professionals as well as community social workers and health researchers -to contribute to this cause. Attempts to assess the losses in physical health, psychological impact, financial burden and burden on health care system, health researches shall bring information to reveal efficiency of health care delivery and reasons for road traffic accidents. The current proposal for intervention recommends a combination of qualitative (in depth interviews) and quantitative (face to face interviews) research techniques involving victims at hospitals located at various parts of Saudi Arabia -Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Abha cities by selecting patients from emergency orthopedic casualty through listing and sampling. Hospitals are selected through cluster sampling technique giving proportional representation to both Government and private hospitals. Appropriate techniques might be used to include patients who had gone through such catastrophes previously. While the survey instruments and methods are standardized, data management and analysis go through stages which are under strict control of researchers and technical experts. Overall process including budgets is monitored by means of Gantt chart.

The State of Social Progress of Islamic Societies, 2016