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Background: The infant mortality rate (IMR) is an important reflection of the well-being of infants and the overall health of the population. This study aims to examine the macroeconomic (ME), sociodemographic (SD), and health status and resources (HSR) effects on IMR, as well as how they may interact with each other. Methods: A retrospective time-series study using yearly data for Oman from 1980 to 2022. Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to develop the exploratory model of the determinants of IMR. Results: The model indicates that HSR determinants directly, but negatively, affect IMR (β = −0.617, p < 0.001). SD directly and positively affects IMR (β = 0.447, p < 0.001). ME only indirectly affects IMR (β = −0.854, p < 0.001). ME determinants also exert some direct influences on both HSR (β = 0.722, p < 0.001) and SD (β = −0.916, p < 0.001) determinants. Conclusions: This study has indicated that IMR is a multi-faceted issue. It also highlighted the interplay of numerous variables and their influence on IMR, particularly the role that social status, the health sector, and the wealth of the country and its population play in reducing IMR. These findings indicate that an integrated policy that addresses socioeconomic and health-related factors and the overall ME environment is necessary for the health and well-being of the children and the population overall in Oman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The factors impacting life expectancy (LE) are important to a country as LE reflects the essential quality of its population. Previous studies showed that other than economic factors, health status and resources (HSR) and sociodemographic (SD) also affect LE. This area has not been previously studied in Bahrain, especially in the past five decades. Hence, this study aims to develop an explanatory model for HSR, macroeconomic (ME), and SD factors on LE in Bahrain. The research was a retrospective, time-series design that collected the annual published data on SD, ME, HSR, and LE in Bahrain's population from 1971 to 2020. The data were analyzed using the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. The result shows that ME (0.463, P < .001) and HSR (0.595, P < .001) have significant direct effects on LE. ME has an indirect effect (0.488, P < .001) on LE via SD and HSR, and SD has an indirect effect (0.496, P < .001) on LE through HSR. During the socioeconomic downturn, the health resources provision should not be reduced as it directly affects LE. An integrated policy addressing socioeconomic and health-related factors could protect the future of Bahrain's population health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Preliminary studies suggested that the high rates of stress are increasingly prevalent in students in tertiary education in the Arabian Gulf countries and that their emotional eating is often triggered by stress. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of studies on this topic and Oman is no exception. In this study, we intended to examine the prevalence of emotional eating and perceived stress in Omani college students and to clarify the relationship between their emotional eating and sociodemographic and risk factors among the population in the college students in Oman. Methods: We used Salzburg Emotional Eating Scale and Perceived Stress Scale to assess emotional eating and variations in perceived stress, respectively. We also study their sociodemographic and risk factors. Results: A total of 422 students took part in the study, with the age of 20.6 ± 1.8 (mean ± standard deviation) years. Of all students, 85.8% (n = 362) were reported to have emotional eating and 78.7% of the sample were reported to experience stress. The multivariate logistic analysis showed that body mass index (BMI) and the student's major subjects were the significant risk factors. Students who majored in science/engineering/agriculture (odds ratio [OR] = 0.926, p < 0.001) and arts/business/law were 3.1 times (OR = 3.115, p < 0.05) and 2.3 times (OR = 2.347, p < 0.05) were significantly engaged in emotional eating as compared to those majoring in medicine/nursing. Students who are underweight (BMI < 18) were 3.9 times (OR = 3.984, p < 0.05) were also significantly more to engage in emotional eating than those students who were overweight/obese (BMI 25+). Conclusion: In this study, we found that both rates of emotional eating and stress were high among college students in Oman. Contrary to international trends, underweight students (BMI < 18) were more prone to engaging in emotional eating than overweight/obese students (BMI 25+) in our study sample. This suggests that there is likely to be subcultural diversity or artifacts that are intimately tied to emotional eating. More studies on this discrepant finding are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore whether different profiles exist in a cohort of nurses regarding demographic and occupational outcomes. Background: Nurses will face many occupational problems, including workplace bullying, work–life imbalance, burnout and medical errors. Methods: A cross‐sectional study included 232 nurses working in a hospital in Oman. Data were collected from December 2018 to April 2019 using convenience sampling. Instruments included work–life balance questions, the Negative Acts questionnaire‐revised questionnaire, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory and Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index. Cluster analysis, t test, chi‐squared and Fisher's exact tests were used for data analysis. Results: Cluster 1 (n = 108) was characterized as 'low‐risk on medical error, burnout and workplace bullying but high‐risk in work–life imbalance' group. Cluster 2 (n = 124) was labelled as 'high‐risk on medical error, work–life imbalance, burnout and workplace buying' group. Conclusions: Two groups of nurses in Oman are facing occupational problems differently. Nurses in Cluster 1 need attention to work–life imbalance. However, nurses in Cluster 2 need attention on all occupational problems. Implications for Nursing Management: Findings call on the nursing stakeholders in Oman to identify factors related to occupational problems, to provide consultation services to reduce inter‐personnel conflicts, and to review nurses' working hours to avoid burnout and resume a balanced work–life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to systematically synthesize and appraise existing literature on the prevalence of eating disorders and disordered eating in Western Asia. A systematic literature search of major English and Arabic databases, i.e., PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, PsychInfo, Web of Science and Scopus (English), Al-Manhal (Arabic) and grey literature was done to obtain the prevalence of disordered eating and eating disorders in Western Asia. The literature search was conducted on June 12th, 2020, and included papers from 1990–2020. Out of the 249 unduplicated original studies reviewed, 27 were included in the final meta-analysis. Data were then categorized according to the tools used to identify the presence of disordered eating or eating disorders. The pooled prevalence of disordered eating as solicited by both the Eating Attitudes Scale 26 and the Eating Attitudes Scale 40 (N = 11841) was 22.07%, the Sick, Control, One stone, Fat, Food Questionnaire (n = 3160) was 22.28% and the Eating Disorder Examination–Questionnaire (n = 425) was 7.95%. The pooled prevalence obtained from those studies using semi-structured interviews for anorexia nervosa (n = 118190) was 1.59%, bulimia nervosa (n = 118513) was 2.41% and the estimated prevalence of Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) (n = 118087) was 3.51%. Although the prevalence rate of eating disorders solicited using semi-structured interviews appeared to parallel the international range, the overall prevalence rate of disordered eating appeared to be slightly higher than the global rates of prevalence. A significant number of the suspected/detected cases of disordered eating appear to fulfill the criteria for EDNOS. This study is classified as evidence obtained from systematic reviews and meta-analyses (i.e. Level 1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We sought to identify subgroups of psychiatric patients in a sample of patients admitted at a tertiary care hospital in Oman who received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) based on their demographic and clinical outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively collected data from patients who received ECT at Al Massarah Hospital, Muscat, Oman, between January 2015 and December 2019. Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical profiles, and psychiatric comorbidities were examined. Results: A total of 179 psychiatric patients received ECT; 96 (53.6%) were females. The average age at diagnosis was 42.5 years. Two-step cluster analysis showed 70 (39.1%) patients in cluster one and 109 (60.9%) patients in cluster two. Patients in cluster one included more (61.4%) females, were older (mean = 55.2 years), married (95.7%), and unemployed (88.6%). They reported they had comorbidities (55.7%) and less frequent ECT use (mean = 8.7) than patients in cluster two. Clusters differences were found on gender (p = 0.001), age (p < 0.001), marital status (p < 0.001), and occupation (p = 0.001). Significant differences were found for diagnosis (p < 0.001), comorbid medical conditions (p < 0.001), and use of ECT sessions (p = 0.006). Conclusions: Psychiatric patients receiving ECT are heterogeneous, with different demographic and clinical outcomes. Our study has shown that patients in cluster one are older females, unemployed, with more comorbidities, and depressive disorders, but received fewer ECT sessions. This study provides important information for clinicians to identify strategies to promote the use of ECT on its effectiveness and safety issues for each group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]