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Background: Socio-economic burden of breast cancer is substantial in low and middle income countries. Therefore, preventive measures are necessary, including raise of population awareness and education on the risk factors. This study aims to assess the general awareness of cancer among Casablanca medical students, with a focus on risk factors for breast cancer. Methods: A cross sectional study using a questionnaire on risk factors of breast cancer was carried out. Participants were randomly selected using a stratified sampling. Results: A total of 678 students participated in the survey. Just over half of the cases (53.2%) reported knowing breast cancer risk factors with a 95% confidence interval of [49.5%; 57.0%]. The main sources of information regarding their knowledge of breast cancer risk factors reported by students were represented by the faculty and media with a similar proportion of 20.6% of cases. The average number of correct responses was statistically different depending on the students’ level of education and whether they had a family history of cancer. Indeed, the average correct responses increased with the year of study, so the lowest average was noted among first-year students with 11 responses versus 15 correct responses out of 23 among sixth-year students and a degree of significance less than 0,001. Similarly, for those who reported a family history of cancer, their average correct response was 14.4 versus 13.2 for those having no relatives with cancer (p< 0.001). Conclusion: Our medical students’ knowledge on breast cancer risk factors is very weak. These future doctors play an important key role in educating people and raising awareness on breast cancer in our country. Therefore, priority programs and training should be put in place to insure successful and knowledgeable doctors.

Medical students report a growing prevalence of mental health illnesses due to the medical school curriculum being considered challenging, lengthy, and leaving little time for leisure. Currently, several mental health apps are available and hold promise in terms of the diagnosis, monitoring, and management of mental health disorders. This study aimed to investigate medical students’ habits, attitudes, and intentions about using mental health applications. A survey questionnaire given to one hundred and thirty-three Moroccan medical students at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Casablanca and answered by one hundred and eleven of them was used to collect primary data. Improvements in the management and monitoring of mental health illnesses as well as a reduction in environmental costs as a result of a decrease in patient travel to mental healthcare facilities are the most obvious reasons why medical students perceive mental health applications to be useful. The findings also indicate that medical students are less familiar with mental health apps and use them less frequently than other mobile health apps. Furthermore, downloading a mental health app, being diagnosed with mental health issues, and perceiving mobile mental health apps to be useful don’t ensure their active use among medical students. Therefore, more research on the determinants of the use of mobile mental health apps is needed. Those related to environmental protection must also be considered.

Background Over 18% of children and adolescents worldwide, aged 5-19 years old, are now considered overweight or obese. It is important to note that being overweight or obese can have a negative impact on the selfesteem and mental health of children and adolescents. Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the levels of self-esteem, depression and their association with obesity/ overweight among a sample of Moroccan adolescents, aged between 12 and 17 years old. Method To achieve these aims, a cross-sectional survey was conducted, with a sample of students from 16 middle schools in Casablanca. The criteria for determining overweight and obesity were based on age and gender-specific BMI according to WHO reference standards. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was used to evaluate self-esteem, and the Beck Inventory for depression assessment. Results A sample of 410 adolescents consisted of 51.2% females and 55.1% participants aged between 13-15 years old. In the obesity category, girls had a significantly lower self-esteem score compared to boys. However, in the overweight category, although girls had a lower mean of self-esteem score compared to boys, there were no significant association in self-esteem scores based on Body Mass Index (BMI) categories and eating habits, specifically related to eating meals with family. Additionally, there was no association found between physical activity and self-esteem. However, a strong association was found between depression and both obesity/overweight and low self-esteem. Conclusion According to the results, when assessing the outcomes of obese adolescents, it is important to consider the variables of BMI, Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and depression. Therefore, it is recommended to implement psychological and psychiatric interventions in order to minimize these consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cannabis use impairs cognitive performance in healthy subjects; several studies have shown improved cognitive outcomes in schizophrenic patients using cannabis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of cannabis use on cognitive function in Moroccan patients with schizophrenia who were cannabis users., Method: Two groups were recruited in a Moroccan University Psychiatric Centre. Fifty patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the DSM-V who were cannabis users (SZ CANN +) and forty-nine patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to DSM-V who do not use cannabis (SZ CANN-). Cognitive functioning was assessed using the CogState neuropsychological battery., Results: The results of the study suggest that SZ CANN- patients performed better in the test of psychomotor function, attention and verbal memory. While SZ CANN+ patients performed better in the test of working memory, visual memory and emotional recognition. We found no relationship between SZ CANN+ patients and SZ CANN- patients concerning executive function., Conclusions: Our results suggest that cannabis use may have different effects on neurocognitive functioning. It is associated with disorders of psychomotor function, attention and verbal memory. So, it is associated with an improvement in working memory, visual memory and emotion recognition., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: Describe the training needs of young Maghreb doctors in epidemic management., Methods: This is a study to quantify the need for medical training on "epidemic management". The study population was formed by residents and assistant professors of the French-speaking faculties of medicine in the Greater Maghreb, hospital-university professors, who were invited to respond to an online questionnaire. The "need" for learning a skill was defined by the perception of its importance, of its low coverage by the curricula and its poor mastery. A grid with 20 items, coded according to the Likert scale of 1 to 5 points, was specially developed for the measurement of need, retained beyond the thresholds of 45/90 points for the two dimensions "confirmation" and "investigation", 60/120 points for the "control" dimension, and 150/300 for the total sum., Results: A total of 121 young Maghreb doctors answered the questionnaire to assess the needs for learning epidemic management skills. The median overall scores for the chapters "importance", "coverage" and "performance" were 76, 40 and 48 respectively out of 100 points. The median scores for training "needs" were 54/90, 48/90 and 67/120 points, respectively, for the dimensions "confirmation", "investment" and "control", giving a global median score of 168 / 300., Conclusion: Capacity building in epidemic management is a need felt by young Maghreb doctors, partially covered by current medical school programs, and consequently altering their professional performance.

Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study of a sample of 300 physicians using self-administered questionnaire over the period 2013- 2014. Burnout has been operationally defined through a French translation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)., Results: A total of 191 physicians participated in the study (response rate 63.7%) with a female predominance at 79.1% and an average age of 26.7 years (N = 3). The average scores of sub-dimensions of the MBI: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal fulfilment were (33.7±10.7), (12.2±6.5) and (30.6±8.3) respectively. 31.8% of participants suffered from severe burnout. It was associated with communication problems within the healthcare team (p < 0.01), insufficient accompaniment (p < 0.05), dissatisfaction among seniors (p = 0.01), fear of making medical errors (p<0.05), use of a psychotherapist (p<0.001), use of psychotropic drugs (p = 0.001), anxiety disorders (p < 0.01), depression (p < 0.01) and suicidal ideation (p < 0.05). Protective factors were: sense of equity within the healthcare team (p < 0.01) and practice of leisure (p<0.05). Changing career direction was associated with severe burnout (p<0.05)., Conclusion: These results are consistent with those of previous studies and justify the importance of a prevention program at different levels.