Nasih Othman - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Nasih Othman

An Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (In Kurdish)

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-smo-10.1177_20503121221074480 for The early impact of the global... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-smo-10.1177_20503121221074480 for The early impact of the global lockdown on post-secondary students and staff: A global, descriptive study by Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia, Leeza Osipenko, Parvin Eftekhar, Nasih Othman, Sultan Alotaibi, Alexandra M Schuster, Hae Sun Suh and Andrea Duncan in SAGE Open Medicine

SAGE Open Medicine, 2022

Objectives: The aim of this study was to gain a preliminary, broad-level understanding of how the... more Objectives: The aim of this study was to gain a preliminary, broad-level understanding of how the first lockdown impacted post-secondary students, faculty, and staff worldwide. Methods: The data were obtained via a global online cross-sectional questionnaire survey using a mixed-method design and disseminated to university students, faculty, and staff from April to November 2020. The data were categorized in four themes/categories: (1) social life and relationships, (2) access to services, (3) health experiences, and (4) impact on mental health well-being. Results: The survey included 27,804 participants from 121 countries and 6 continents. The majority of participants were from Europe (73.6%), female (59.2%), under 30 years of age (64.0%), living in large urban areas (61.3%), %), and from middle-income families (66.7%). Approximately 28.4% of respondents reported that the lockdown negatively impacted their social life, while 21.2% reported the lockdown had a positive impact. A tota...

Health & Social Care in the Community, 2021

Evidence shows that immigrants face several challenges post migration, impacting their social inc... more Evidence shows that immigrants face several challenges post migration, impacting their social inclusion. Yet, limited scholarly knowledge exists on older immigrants including Tamils from Sri Lanka. Thus, an exploratory concept mapping (CM) study was conducted in 2017 with 27 Tamil immigrant women and men aged ≥55 years and settled in Toronto, Canada. The aim was to gather their perspectives on factors that help them to feel socially included (focal question). The CM methodology first engaged participants in brainstorming sessions to generate ideas in response to the focal question. Participants then joined sorting and rating sessions and sorted 72 generated items and rated them on a scale of 1-5 for importance and feasibility to initiate a change. Finally, in the interpretation session, participants provided feedback on the visual cluster maps generated through quantitative analysis of the collected data. Participants labelled the seven identified clusters: (a) Services for Employment and Settlement; (b) Financial Independence; (c) Medical System and Senior Care; (d) Adaptation and Integration; (e) Family Harmony; (f) Cultural Interaction and Feeling of Security; and (g) Social Interaction. The clusters one to three were at the top for importance (mean 4.33, 4.22, 4.17) and participants interpreted these as needing policy-level attention (e.g. credential evaluation, hiring practices) and identified the roles of advocacy and community-engagement for community-based programmes (CBPs). The Family Harmony was interpreted as needing 'work within families', while CBPs' culturally sensitive outreach was viewed as valuable. Participant interpretation of other clusters highlighted the role of social networking, trust, belonging, civic engagement and social cohesion through joint working of the community members and CBPs. The findings call for an inter-sectoral and community-engaged approach to strengthen the social inclusion of the community. Future research with a larger sample is needed, especially on early settlement experiences and social inclusion of older immigrants.

Acta medica Iranica, 2018

Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighbo... more Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighboring countries. This study aimed to describe the problem of self-burning in Basra province and investigate the associated factors. A prospective study was undertaken between October 2016 and May 2017 in Al-Fayhaa Burn Center. Data were collected from all patients admitted to the center for a self-inflicted burn. Sociodemographic information and cause of suicide were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, and clinical data were transcribed from hospital records. There were 62 cases (females 74%, males 26%) of self-burning during the 6 months data collection accounting for 22% of all burn admission. The age ranged from 9-56 years (mean 25.3, SD 10.8 year). The vast majority had no or only basic education (92%), 55% were married, 60% were from outside Basra city and 53% considered themselves from a poor socioeconomic background. The incident mostly occurred at home (84%) ...

Annals of burns and fire disasters, 2017

Burns are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and an important public health probl... more Burns are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and an important public health problem in Iraq. The current study was undertaken to describe epidemiological characteristics of hospitalized burn patients and investigate in-hospital mortality. The study was undertaken at the Al-Fayhaa Burn Centre in Basra City through analyzing hospital records of patients admitted to the centre for a new burn injury between January and December 2016. Data were extracted from all accessible files, entered into Epidata and analyzed in Stata. Hospital records of 367 patients with an age range of 1 month to 77 years and a male to female ratio of 1:2 were analyzed. One third of admissions were children aged 0 to 5 years: the most common mechanisms of injury were flame (51%) and scalds (41.7%). Total body surface area (TBSA) burnt ranged from less than 1% to 100%, with a median of 30.0% (IQR 18.0, 45.0). Length of hospital stay ranged from 0 to 5 months, with a median of 8 days (IQR 4, 12.5). ...

Acta medica Iranica, 2018

Congenital anomalies or birth defects can be acquired during the fetal stages of development or f... more Congenital anomalies or birth defects can be acquired during the fetal stages of development or from the genetic makeup of the parents. Congenital anomalies are important causes of infant and childhood illness and disability. Little is known about incidence and types of these anomalies in Iraqi Kurdistan. Therefore, this study was undertaken to estimate the incidence and types of congenital anomalies in Sulaimaniyah city. The study was carried out on the hospital's records of all newborns registered as having a congenital anomaly. The records of 586 neonates with congenital anomalies were analyzed from a total of 178,954 live broths that occurred during 4 years in the city. The data was obtained from the statistics section of maternal and a child unit of the Preventive Health Department. The overall incidence of all types of congenital anomalies over the four years was 3.3/1000 live births. There was a statistically significant difference in incidence between males and females o...

Background: Advertising directed at children has received regular focus for many years as it is f... more Background: Advertising directed at children has received regular focus for many years as it is fraught with ethical concerns, while children are a vulnerable group that should be protected rather than being the object for companies' marketing. Recent concerns about the increased rates of obesity among children worldwide have resulted in the resurgence of interest towards food advertising targeting children. Since parents play an important mediation role in controlling their children, thus, it is important to understand parents' perceptions. The aims of this study were to examine the parents' perceptions toward the effect of food advertising on children's eating habits and childhood obesity. Moreover, to investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among parents and their children. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 332 parents of children aged between 4 and 14 years at shopping mall and public parks in the state of Qatar. A survey was carried out to measure parent's perceptions toward the effect of food advertising directed at children. Anthropometric measurements were self-reported expect for parents' weight which was obtained via an electronic scale. SPSS program version 21 was used for analysis and p-value ≤ 0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results: The findings demonstrated that more than 50% of participated parents and their children were either overweight or obese. The majority of parents expressed negative perceptions of food advertising targeting children and preferred to better regulations of this area ranging from modification of adverting contents to its total prohibition (63%). Conclusion: These findings confirm previous data indicating that exposure to food advertising can increase the desire to consumed advertised products. This research generally confirms the need for better legislative regulations of this issue and larger contribution of food products that have positive implications on children's health in the future.

Kirkuk University Journal-Scientific Studies, 2015

The quality of drinking water is a crucial factor for human health. The objective of this study w... more The quality of drinking water is a crucial factor for human health. The objective of this study was to assess the physico chemical and biological characteristics of the various sources of drinking water in the city of Halabja, Iraqi Kurdistan. Forty water samples were collected and analyzed for physic-chemical and biological characteristics. The study included 27 samples from municipality wells and 13 samples from household tap water. Analysis was done for physico-chemical parameters including pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH), Chloride (Cl) , Alkality M, Alkality P, Aluminum (Al) , Copper (Cu) , Calcium (Ca) , Boron (B) and MPN .The results were compared with the standards prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO). All the physico-chemical parameters were found to be within allowable limits. It can, therefore, be concluded that the groundwater in the study area is suitable for drinking and other household purposes. But From the pH values it is clear that the ground water of the study area is alkaline in nature and the total hardness varies between 203-323 mg/l which indicate that water in the deep aquifer is hard hence suggested to Halabjah water director to soften the tube well water before consumption. There were no statistically significant differences between water samples from wells and households in terms of these parameters. Although the drinking water of the area is considered safe. Nevertheless biological surveillance is need especially in hot weather.

Kurdistan Journal of Applied Research, 2020

The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, its threat to people’s health and its indirect impact... more The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, its threat to people’s health and its indirect impacts through the subsequent measures taken by governments to control the disease have led to uncertainty and huge disruption in the way people used to live with a negative impact on mental health and wellbeing. The current study estimate prevalence of the common mental health disorders among a sample of the adult population in the Kurdistan Region during the pandemic. Through an online survey using DASS-21 to measure depression, anxiety, and stress data of 548 adult participants were collected during April 2020 and analyzed. The sample was mainly from Sulaimani (89%), mean age was 37.9 (SD 13.5) and male/female ratio was 1. Prevalence of any severity levels of depression, anxiety, and stress was 45%, 47%, and 18% respectively. In regression analysis, notably female sex was a significant independent factor for higher levels of depression (coefficient 1.89, p<0.05), anxiety (coefficient ...

Journal of Mental Health, 2020

Abstract Background Canada launched the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initiative in 2015 and resett... more Abstract Background Canada launched the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initiative in 2015 and resettled over 40,000 refugees. Aim To evaluate the prevalence of depression-level symptoms at baseline and one year post-resettlement and analyze its predictors. Methods Data come from the Syrian Refugee Integration and Long-term Health Outcomes in Canada study (SyRIA.lth) involving 1924 Syrian refugees recruited through a variety of community-based strategies. Data were collected using structured interviews in 2017 and 2018. Depression symptoms were measured using Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). Analysis for associated factors was executed using multinomial logistic regression. Results Mean age was 38.5 years (SD 13.8). Sample included 49% males and 51% females settled in Ontario (48%), Quebec (36%) and British Columbia (16%). Over 74% always needed an interpreter, and only 23% were in employment. Prevalence of depression-level symptoms was 15% at baseline and 18% in year-2 (p < 0.001). Significant predictors of depression-level symptoms at year-2 were baseline depression, sponsorship program, province, poor language skills, lack of satisfaction with housing conditions and with health services, lower perceived control, lower perceived social support and longer stay in Canada. Conclusion Increase in depression-level symptoms deserves attention through focusing on identified predictors particularly baseline depression scores, social support, perceived control and language ability.

BMC Public Health, 2020

Background Waterpipe smoking has gained global popularity in recent years, especially among young... more Background Waterpipe smoking has gained global popularity in recent years, especially among young people. However, there is a lack of empirical investigation into waterpipe smoking in East Asia. This study aimed to investigate the demographical and psycho-social characteristics and patterns of waterpipe smoking (WPS) among university students in Hong Kong. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted via online questionnaires administered to 1288 Hong Kong university students (mean age: 22.4 [SD = 3.8]). Logistic regressions were used to compute adjusted odd ratios (aOR) for waterpipe ever-smoking in relation to respondents’ characteristics. Moreover, multinomial logistic regression yielded adjusted RR (aRR) for four different smoking status (i.e., never, waterpipe-only, cigarette-only, and dual smoking) regarding the characteristics. Results 23.8% of participants reported having ever smoked a waterpipe (vs. cigarette ever-smoking: 21.1%). Factors including being female (aOR:1.57;...

JMIR Mental Health, 2020

Background Innovative interventions are needed to address the increasing mental health needs of u... more Background Innovative interventions are needed to address the increasing mental health needs of university students. Given the demonstrated anxiolytic and antidepressant benefits of mindfulness training, we developed an 8-week, Web-based Mindfulness Virtual Community (MVC) intervention informed by cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) constructs. Objective This study investigated the efficacy of the MVC intervention in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate students in Toronto, Canada. The secondary outcomes included quality of life, life satisfaction, and mindfulness. Methods The first 4 weeks of the full MVC intervention (F-MVC) comprised: (1) 12 video-based modules with psycho-education on students’ preidentified stressful topics and topically applied mindfulness practice; (2) anonymous peer-to-peer discussion forums; and (3) anonymous, group-based, professionally guided, 20-min live videoconferences. The second 4 weeks of F-MVC involved access only...

Community Mental Health Journal, 2019

Posttraumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) is one of the common mental health conditions among Afghan r... more Posttraumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) is one of the common mental health conditions among Afghan refugees resettled in developed countries. The current study explores how social support, coping and other factors correlate with PTSD in this population. A survey was conducted with 49 adult Afghan refugees (males 41%, female 59%) who completed Harvard Trauma Questionnaire during their visit to a Community Health Centre in Toronto. Bivariate analysis and structural-equation-modeling (SEM) were used to examine associations and pathways between PTSD and other variables. Mean PTSD score was 2.53 (SD 0.92) with 53% showing symptoms of PTSD which was significantly associated with age, unemployment, social support and self-rated health. SEM showed that higher social support scores were significantly associated with lower PTSD scores, and the effect of coping and English language were mediated through social support. The high prevalence of PTSD, its association with social support and self-rated health are important issues to be considered for refugee resettlement programs.

BACKGROUND The rising prevalence of mental health problems in university students may be overwhel... more BACKGROUND The rising prevalence of mental health problems in university students may be overwhelming traditional university mental health services. Given the demonstrated anxiolytic and antidepressant benefits of mindfulness, we developed an eight-week online Mindfulness Virtual Community (MVC) intervention. Twelve psycho-educational videos on topics students pre-identified as stressful, prepared the trial participants for subsequent videos that guided them in 10 minutes of topically applied mindfulness practice. All video content was informed by Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) constructs. Optional peer-to-peer text-based discussion and weekly live chat sessions were monitored and led by a mental health professional. OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy of an online MVC intervention in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress (primary outcomes) among undergraduate students in Toronto, Canada. The secondary outcomes included quality of life and life satisfaction. METHOD...

International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 2019

Background Young adults starting college or university education encounter multiple stressors rel... more Background Young adults starting college or university education encounter multiple stressors related to transitional life-stage and novel environments. Current studies reveal high rates of symptoms related to common mental health problems like depression, anxiety and stress. However, limited knowledge exists on the determinants on these problems among Canadian students. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the impact of contextual determinants, as perceived by students, on self-reported mental health, and how these impacts varied by depression, anxiety and stress. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with students attending a large university in Toronto, Canada. Participants completed a self-administered online questionnaire as part of a larger project. The questions asked about contextual determinants related to personal, interpersonal, family, social, socio-economic and political factors along with levels of depression, anxiety and stress as measured by Patie...

Kurdistan Journal of Applied Research, 2018

Congenital anomalies comprise a wide range of abnormalities in body structure or function that ar... more Congenital anomalies comprise a wide range of abnormalities in body structure or function that are present at birth and are of prenatal origin. These are defined as structural changes that have significant medical, social or cosmetic consequences for the affected individual, and typically require medical intervention. According to our Knowledge, research is scarce on these conditions in Sulaimaniyah city. Therefore, the current study was conducted to investigate potential risk factors for congenital anomalies. A case-control study was carried out from March to August 2017 involving 400 children (200 cases and 200 controls) aged 0-5 years. Required data were obtained on the risk factors through face to face interviews with mothers of cases and controls. The data were using descriptive statistical methods, Chi-square and Logistic Regression using STATA 11, calculating odds ratios and condensing P value less than 0.05 as statistically significant. The mean age of the children was 1.9 y...

Kurdistan Journal of Applied Research, 2018

Genital warts and other warts are an epidermal manifestation attributed to the epidermotropic hum... more Genital warts and other warts are an epidermal manifestation attributed to the epidermotropic human papillomavirus (HPV) some of which have been linked directly to an increased neoplastic risk in men and women. According to our knowledge, research is scarce and little is known about this condition in Sulaimani city. A cross-sectional study was carried out from 1st April to 30th May 2018 including 441 undergraduate students aged between 18-30 years belonging to the health and non-health colleges of Sulaimani Polytechnic University. Data were obtained on the knowledge about genital warts through self-administrated questionnaire from the students. Data were analyzed using STATA 11. The mean age of the participants was 21.3 years. Hand warts were the commonest types among participants (31%). Knowledge score ranged from 0 to 9, was not normally distributed with a median of zero (IQR 0-22), 89% of the students had very low knowledge score. Knowledge score correlated with socio-demographic...

Journal of Sulaimani Medical College, 2014

ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Background Very little is known about neural tube defects (NTDs) in Iraqi Kurdi... more ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Background Very little is known about neural tube defects (NTDs) in Iraqi Kurdistan. This study was undertaken in Sulaymaniyah province in order to describe these defects in the area and report on the outcome of patients. Methods This descriptive study involved a case series of 50 patients admitted with NTD to the department of neurosurgery at Sulaimaniyah Teaching Hospital during 2006-2010. Results Ninety eight patients were admitted to the centre of whom 50 patients were included in the study. The estimated incidence at birth was 3.5 per 10,000, 56% of the patients were females and 44% were males with a female to male ratio of 1.27. The median age at first visit was 9 days (Interquartile range 1, 36). The maternal age ranged from 17-42 years with a mean age of 28 years (SD 6 years). Eight percent of the children had siblings with NTDs, 6% had other anomalies and 12% of their parents were relatives in blood. The majority of lesions (76%) were myelomeningocele, 14% were meningocele and 10% were myeloschisis. Only half of the patients were diagnosed during pregnancy and 30% of all patients had hydrocephalus at time of diagnosis. There was no significant association between sex and site of lesion (P=0.3) and between sex and type of the lesion (P=0.5). Conclusion Establishment of prenatal screening is essential in order to help parents to be prepared and make an informed decision about pregnancy. Antenatal care must be strengthened for all pregnant women and folic acid supplementation should be emphasized. Keywords: Neural tube defect, spina bifida. Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan, case series.

An Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (In Kurdish)

SAGE Open Medicine, 2022

Health & Social Care in the Community, 2021

Acta medica Iranica, 2018

Annals of burns and fire disasters, 2017

Acta medica Iranica, 2018

Kirkuk University Journal-Scientific Studies, 2015

Kurdistan Journal of Applied Research, 2020

Journal of Mental Health, 2020

BMC Public Health, 2020

JMIR Mental Health, 2020

Community Mental Health Journal, 2019