Eiada al-Faris | King Saud University (original) (raw)

Papers by Eiada al-Faris

Singapore medical journal

This study was conducted to estimate sleep duration in Saudi elementary school children, sleep ha... more This study was conducted to estimate sleep duration in Saudi elementary school children, sleep habits and practices that may affect it, and compare our results to published data in other societies. Parents of elementary school children were surveyed regarding their children's bedtime, rise time, sleep duration at night and daytime nap duration during weekdays and weekends. A questionnaire inquiring about demographical data, specific sleep problems and habits, and home environment was completed by the parents. The study comprised 511 (50.5 percent) boys and 501 (49.5 percent) girls. During weekdays, bedtime for the whole group was 21.3 +/- 1.8 hours, rise time was 5.9 +/- 0.5 hours, total sleep time (TST) was 8.4 +/- 1.1 hours, and TST and nap was 9.98 +/- 1.3 hours. Multivariate analysis revealed that TST was affected by regularity of bedtime, mother's level of education, daytime naps, and the habits of watching television (TV) and playing computer games after 20.00 hours. Nighttime sleep duration is shorter in Saudi school children compared to published data. Several factors appeared to affect sleep duration, including mother's educational level, daytime naps and watching TV at night.

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1997

Objectives: The present study aims to detect the frequency and types of complementary and alterna... more Objectives: The present study aims to detect the frequency and types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies used for children and to explore parental motivating factors for using CAM for their children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants and methods: This is a cross-sectional study that involved 462 families selected through a multistage cluster-sampling technique covering Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. The sample was selected from 40 clusters, distributed proportionally according to the size of the population in the catchment area of primary health care centres (PHCCs). A structured questionnaire that contains items fulfilling the research objectives was used to collect data by research assistants. Results: The study included 926 parents, comprising 351 fathers and 575 mothers; 37.3% of them reported the use of CAM for their children including reciting the Quran, honey and Ferula asafoetida (26.1%, 21.5% and 18.8%, respectively). CAM was used six times higher for children of parents using CAM for themselves than children of parents who did not use CAM themselves (odds ratio (OR) = 6.03, 3.9—9.37). Multivariate logistic regression showed that parental use of CAM (OR = 3.0, 2.2—4.0), keeping CAM remedies at home (OR = 2.3, 1.8—3.1), perceived success of CAM in practice (OR = 1.8, 1.3—2.4) and preference of use of natural materials (OR = 1.7, 1.2—2.5) were independent predictors of use of CAM for children. Conclusions: In this study, around one-third of the parents used CAM for their children. Quran (Muslims' holy book) was the most common CAM type used for children. Parents' use of CAM for themselves is the most important predictor of its use for children. An in-depth study to investigate CAM use for specific diseases in children is recommended.

Any curriculum change is essentially an environmental change; therefore, there is a need to asses... more Any curriculum change is essentially an environmental change; therefore, there is a need to assess the impact of changes in the curriculum on the students' perception of the Educational Environment (EE) and psychological well-being. The objectives of the current study are to (i) compare the EE perceptions of medical students studying in a System Based Curriculum (SBC) with those studying in a traditional curriculum (ii) compare the rate of depressive symptoms among the same students studying in both types of curricula. (iii) determine whether there is a difference in the EE perception and depressive symptoms based on gender and year of study.

Background: Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to deal with your own and others emotions.... more Background: Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to deal with your own and others emotions. Medical students are inducted into medical schools on the basis of their academic achievement. Professionally, however, their success rate is variable and may depend on their interpersonal relationships. EI is thought to be significant in achieving good interpersonal relationships and success in life and career. Therefore, it is important to measure EI and understand its correlates in an undergraduate medical student population. Aim: The objective of study was to investigate the relationship between the EI of medical students and their academic achievement (based on cumulative grade point average [CGPA]), age, gender and year of study. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used. The SSREIS and demographic survey were administered in the three medical schools in Saudi Arabia from April to May 2012. Results: The response rate was 30%. For the Optimism subscale, the mean score was M ¼ 3.79, SD AE 0.54 (a ¼ 0.82), for Awareness-of-emotion subscale M ¼ 3.94, SD AE 0.57 (a ¼ 0.72) and for Use-of-emotion subscale M ¼ 3.92, SD AE 0.54 (a ¼ 0.63). Multiple regression showed a significant positive correlation between CGPA and the EI of medical students (r ¼ 0.246, p ¼ 0.000) on the Optimism subscale. No correlation was seen between CGPA and Awareness of Emotions and Use of Emotions subscales. No relationship was seen for the other independent variables. Conclusion: The current study demonstrates that CGPA is the only significant predictor, indicating that Optimism tends to be higher for students with a higher CPGA. None of the other independent variables (age, year of study, gender) showed a significant relationship.

V iolence against women (VAW), in its various forms, is endemic in communities around the world, ... more V iolence against women (VAW), in its various forms, is endemic in communities around the world, cutting across race, age, and religious and national boundaries. The World Bank estimated domestic violence to be as serious a cause of incapacity and death among women aged 15 to 49 years as cancer, and a greater cause of ill health than traffic accidents and malaria combined. 1 Many researches and reports have linked VAW to the long-term suffering of women who have chronic pain, pelvic inflammatory diseases, fatigue, sexually transmitted infections, and even cancer. 2,3

Long training workshops on the writing of exam questions have been shown to be effective; however... more Long training workshops on the writing of exam questions have been shown to be effective; however, the effectiveness of short workshops needs to be demonstrated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a one-day, seven-hour faculty development workshop at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, on the quality of multiple-choice questions (MCQs). Kirkpatrick's four-level evaluation model was used. Participants' satisfaction (Kirkpatrick's Level 1) was evaluated with a post-workshop questionnaire. A quasi-experimental, randomized separate sample, pretest-posttest design was used to assess the learning effect (Kirkpatrick's Level 2). To evaluate transfer of learning to practice (Kirkpatrick's Level 3), MCQs created by ten faculty members as a result of the training were assessed. To assess Kirkpatrick's Level 4 regarding institutional change, interviews with three key leaders of the school were conducted, coded, and analyzed. A total of 72 course directors were invited to and attended some part of the workshop; all 52 who attended the entire workshop completed the satisfaction form; and 22 of the 36 participants in the experimental group completed the posttest. The results showed that all 52 participants were highly satisfied with the workshop, and significant positive changes were found in the faculty members' knowledge and the quality of their MCQs with effect sizes of 0.7 and 0.28, respectively. At the institutional level, the interviews demonstrated positive structural changes in the school's assessment system. Overall, this one-day item-writing faculty workshop resulted in positive changes at all four of Kirkpatrick's levels; these effects suggest that even a short training session can improve a dental school's assessment of its students.

Journal of Family and Community Medicine, 2010

This paper is an att empt to produce a guide for improving the quality of Multiple Choice Questio... more This paper is an att empt to produce a guide for improving the quality of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) used in undergraduate and postgraduate assessment. Multiple Choice Questions type is the most frequently used type of assessment worldwide. Well constructed, context rich MCQs have a high reliability per hour of testing. Avoidance of technical items fl aws is essential to improve the validity evidence of MCQs. Technical item fl aws are essentially of two types (i) related to testwiseness, (ii) related to irrelevant diffi culty. A list of such fl aws is presented together with discussion of each fl aw and examples to facilitate learning of this paper and to make it learner friendly. This paper was designed to be interactive with self-assessment exercises followed by the key answer with explanations.

Annals of Saudi Medicine, 2008

Alternative medicine (AM) encompasses all forms of therapies that fall outside the mainstream of ... more Alternative medicine (AM) encompasses all forms of therapies that fall outside the mainstream of medical practice. Its popularity is on the increase. Because previous surveys were limited and not generalizable, we estimated the prevalence, pattern and factors associated with use of AM in the community. A multistage cluster cross-sectional household survey was conducted among Saudi residents of the Riyadh region. Data were collected in 2003 by trained interviewers from primary health care centers using a specially designed questionnaire. Of 1408 individuals participating in the study, 39% were men. The mean (+/-SD) age for the study population was 35.5 (+/-13.9) years. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents had used AM during the last 12 months. The Holy Quran as a therapy was the most frequently used AM (50.3%), followed by honey (40.1%), black seed (39.2%) and myrrh (35.4%). The health belief model was found to be the most important determinant of AM use. Factors independently associated with AM use included perceived failure of medical treatment, the perceived success of AM, a preference for natural materials, and long appointment intervals to see physicians. There is a high prevalence of AM use in the Riyadh region and the most important determinant of AM use was the perceived failure of medical treatment. The study results call for intensive health education campaigns in the media addressing wrong beliefs regarding AM and modern medicine. The popularity of AM in this community should alert decision makers to look at the difficult accessibility to the health system.

V iolence against women (VAW), in its various forms, is endemic in communities around the world, ... more V iolence against women (VAW), in its various forms, is endemic in communities around the world, cutting across race, age, and religious and national boundaries. The World Bank estimated domestic violence to be as serious a cause of incapacity and death among women aged 15 to 49 years as cancer, and a greater cause of ill health than traffic accidents and malaria combined. 1 Many researches and reports have linked VAW to the long-term suffering of women who have chronic pain, pelvic inflammatory diseases, fatigue, sexually transmitted infections, and even cancer. 2,3

Singapore medical journal

This study was conducted to estimate sleep duration in Saudi elementary school children, sleep ha... more This study was conducted to estimate sleep duration in Saudi elementary school children, sleep habits and practices that may affect it, and compare our results to published data in other societies. Parents of elementary school children were surveyed regarding their children's bedtime, rise time, sleep duration at night and daytime nap duration during weekdays and weekends. A questionnaire inquiring about demographical data, specific sleep problems and habits, and home environment was completed by the parents. The study comprised 511 (50.5 percent) boys and 501 (49.5 percent) girls. During weekdays, bedtime for the whole group was 21.3 +/- 1.8 hours, rise time was 5.9 +/- 0.5 hours, total sleep time (TST) was 8.4 +/- 1.1 hours, and TST and nap was 9.98 +/- 1.3 hours. Multivariate analysis revealed that TST was affected by regularity of bedtime, mother's level of education, daytime naps, and the habits of watching television (TV) and playing computer games after 20.00 hours. Nighttime sleep duration is shorter in Saudi school children compared to published data. Several factors appeared to affect sleep duration, including mother's educational level, daytime naps and watching TV at night.

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1997

Objectives: The present study aims to detect the frequency and types of complementary and alterna... more Objectives: The present study aims to detect the frequency and types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies used for children and to explore parental motivating factors for using CAM for their children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants and methods: This is a cross-sectional study that involved 462 families selected through a multistage cluster-sampling technique covering Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. The sample was selected from 40 clusters, distributed proportionally according to the size of the population in the catchment area of primary health care centres (PHCCs). A structured questionnaire that contains items fulfilling the research objectives was used to collect data by research assistants. Results: The study included 926 parents, comprising 351 fathers and 575 mothers; 37.3% of them reported the use of CAM for their children including reciting the Quran, honey and Ferula asafoetida (26.1%, 21.5% and 18.8%, respectively). CAM was used six times higher for children of parents using CAM for themselves than children of parents who did not use CAM themselves (odds ratio (OR) = 6.03, 3.9—9.37). Multivariate logistic regression showed that parental use of CAM (OR = 3.0, 2.2—4.0), keeping CAM remedies at home (OR = 2.3, 1.8—3.1), perceived success of CAM in practice (OR = 1.8, 1.3—2.4) and preference of use of natural materials (OR = 1.7, 1.2—2.5) were independent predictors of use of CAM for children. Conclusions: In this study, around one-third of the parents used CAM for their children. Quran (Muslims' holy book) was the most common CAM type used for children. Parents' use of CAM for themselves is the most important predictor of its use for children. An in-depth study to investigate CAM use for specific diseases in children is recommended.

Any curriculum change is essentially an environmental change; therefore, there is a need to asses... more Any curriculum change is essentially an environmental change; therefore, there is a need to assess the impact of changes in the curriculum on the students' perception of the Educational Environment (EE) and psychological well-being. The objectives of the current study are to (i) compare the EE perceptions of medical students studying in a System Based Curriculum (SBC) with those studying in a traditional curriculum (ii) compare the rate of depressive symptoms among the same students studying in both types of curricula. (iii) determine whether there is a difference in the EE perception and depressive symptoms based on gender and year of study.

Background: Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to deal with your own and others emotions.... more Background: Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to deal with your own and others emotions. Medical students are inducted into medical schools on the basis of their academic achievement. Professionally, however, their success rate is variable and may depend on their interpersonal relationships. EI is thought to be significant in achieving good interpersonal relationships and success in life and career. Therefore, it is important to measure EI and understand its correlates in an undergraduate medical student population. Aim: The objective of study was to investigate the relationship between the EI of medical students and their academic achievement (based on cumulative grade point average [CGPA]), age, gender and year of study. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used. The SSREIS and demographic survey were administered in the three medical schools in Saudi Arabia from April to May 2012. Results: The response rate was 30%. For the Optimism subscale, the mean score was M ¼ 3.79, SD AE 0.54 (a ¼ 0.82), for Awareness-of-emotion subscale M ¼ 3.94, SD AE 0.57 (a ¼ 0.72) and for Use-of-emotion subscale M ¼ 3.92, SD AE 0.54 (a ¼ 0.63). Multiple regression showed a significant positive correlation between CGPA and the EI of medical students (r ¼ 0.246, p ¼ 0.000) on the Optimism subscale. No correlation was seen between CGPA and Awareness of Emotions and Use of Emotions subscales. No relationship was seen for the other independent variables. Conclusion: The current study demonstrates that CGPA is the only significant predictor, indicating that Optimism tends to be higher for students with a higher CPGA. None of the other independent variables (age, year of study, gender) showed a significant relationship.

V iolence against women (VAW), in its various forms, is endemic in communities around the world, ... more V iolence against women (VAW), in its various forms, is endemic in communities around the world, cutting across race, age, and religious and national boundaries. The World Bank estimated domestic violence to be as serious a cause of incapacity and death among women aged 15 to 49 years as cancer, and a greater cause of ill health than traffic accidents and malaria combined. 1 Many researches and reports have linked VAW to the long-term suffering of women who have chronic pain, pelvic inflammatory diseases, fatigue, sexually transmitted infections, and even cancer. 2,3

Long training workshops on the writing of exam questions have been shown to be effective; however... more Long training workshops on the writing of exam questions have been shown to be effective; however, the effectiveness of short workshops needs to be demonstrated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a one-day, seven-hour faculty development workshop at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, on the quality of multiple-choice questions (MCQs). Kirkpatrick's four-level evaluation model was used. Participants' satisfaction (Kirkpatrick's Level 1) was evaluated with a post-workshop questionnaire. A quasi-experimental, randomized separate sample, pretest-posttest design was used to assess the learning effect (Kirkpatrick's Level 2). To evaluate transfer of learning to practice (Kirkpatrick's Level 3), MCQs created by ten faculty members as a result of the training were assessed. To assess Kirkpatrick's Level 4 regarding institutional change, interviews with three key leaders of the school were conducted, coded, and analyzed. A total of 72 course directors were invited to and attended some part of the workshop; all 52 who attended the entire workshop completed the satisfaction form; and 22 of the 36 participants in the experimental group completed the posttest. The results showed that all 52 participants were highly satisfied with the workshop, and significant positive changes were found in the faculty members' knowledge and the quality of their MCQs with effect sizes of 0.7 and 0.28, respectively. At the institutional level, the interviews demonstrated positive structural changes in the school's assessment system. Overall, this one-day item-writing faculty workshop resulted in positive changes at all four of Kirkpatrick's levels; these effects suggest that even a short training session can improve a dental school's assessment of its students.

Journal of Family and Community Medicine, 2010

This paper is an att empt to produce a guide for improving the quality of Multiple Choice Questio... more This paper is an att empt to produce a guide for improving the quality of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) used in undergraduate and postgraduate assessment. Multiple Choice Questions type is the most frequently used type of assessment worldwide. Well constructed, context rich MCQs have a high reliability per hour of testing. Avoidance of technical items fl aws is essential to improve the validity evidence of MCQs. Technical item fl aws are essentially of two types (i) related to testwiseness, (ii) related to irrelevant diffi culty. A list of such fl aws is presented together with discussion of each fl aw and examples to facilitate learning of this paper and to make it learner friendly. This paper was designed to be interactive with self-assessment exercises followed by the key answer with explanations.

Annals of Saudi Medicine, 2008

Alternative medicine (AM) encompasses all forms of therapies that fall outside the mainstream of ... more Alternative medicine (AM) encompasses all forms of therapies that fall outside the mainstream of medical practice. Its popularity is on the increase. Because previous surveys were limited and not generalizable, we estimated the prevalence, pattern and factors associated with use of AM in the community. A multistage cluster cross-sectional household survey was conducted among Saudi residents of the Riyadh region. Data were collected in 2003 by trained interviewers from primary health care centers using a specially designed questionnaire. Of 1408 individuals participating in the study, 39% were men. The mean (+/-SD) age for the study population was 35.5 (+/-13.9) years. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents had used AM during the last 12 months. The Holy Quran as a therapy was the most frequently used AM (50.3%), followed by honey (40.1%), black seed (39.2%) and myrrh (35.4%). The health belief model was found to be the most important determinant of AM use. Factors independently associated with AM use included perceived failure of medical treatment, the perceived success of AM, a preference for natural materials, and long appointment intervals to see physicians. There is a high prevalence of AM use in the Riyadh region and the most important determinant of AM use was the perceived failure of medical treatment. The study results call for intensive health education campaigns in the media addressing wrong beliefs regarding AM and modern medicine. The popularity of AM in this community should alert decision makers to look at the difficult accessibility to the health system.

V iolence against women (VAW), in its various forms, is endemic in communities around the world, ... more V iolence against women (VAW), in its various forms, is endemic in communities around the world, cutting across race, age, and religious and national boundaries. The World Bank estimated domestic violence to be as serious a cause of incapacity and death among women aged 15 to 49 years as cancer, and a greater cause of ill health than traffic accidents and malaria combined. 1 Many researches and reports have linked VAW to the long-term suffering of women who have chronic pain, pelvic inflammatory diseases, fatigue, sexually transmitted infections, and even cancer. 2,3