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Aims: To assess the clients` satisfaction towards childhood immunization service ‎among parents having children aged less than 2 year in primary health ‎care settings, and to highlight barriers affecting client satisfaction with immunization ‎services in primary health care facilities‎. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Three primary health care facilities in Tanta Egypt; Said Health Care Center, Elragdia Health Care Unit, and Mahalet Rouh Health Care Unit, between March 2021 and April 2022. Methodology: We included 400 clients coming to the primary health care facilities during the vaccination sessions of their children less than 2 years of age. Participants’ data were collected using a pre-designed interviewing validated questionnaire sheet through interview that assessed the sociodemographic data, knowledge, satisfaction, and barriers toward the childhood vaccination. Results: In this study, the majority (87.8%) were recruited from Said Health Care Center. The clients, ages ranged from 19 to 70 years, with the highest percentage in the age group of 20 –

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is the health care given to pregnant women, to monitor the pregnancy and reduce the risks for the mother and baby during pregnancy and at delivery. To be most effective, it is recommended that all pregnant women should have at least four antenatal checkups during pregnancy, started as early as possible in the first trimester. Aim: The study aimed to determine the utilization pattern of antenatal care facilities and to identify the determinants of utilization of the antenatal care services in family health centers in Tanta District. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 women attending four family health care facilities in Tanta city. The tools of the study were a predesigned, pretested structured questionnaire that inquire about socio-demographic data, obstetric history, medical history, the content of antenatal care program and utilization pattern, the attitude of the studied pregnant women towards ANC. Informed consent was obtained from each participant and data confidentiality was guaranteed. The data were collected through interviewing the selected women. Results: More than half of participants (51.3%) started the first visit of ANC in their first trimester. Most of them (62.3%) received adequate ANC. Mothers in rural areas utilized ANC more than urban ones. The age of pregnant women was significantly lower among those who received adequate ANC than those with inadequate ANC. A higher percentage of adequate ANC recipients were more educated however the difference was not statistically significant. There was a statistically significant difference between adequacy of ANC and family income. Gravidity, parity, and children’s numbers did not significantly differ according to the adequacy of ANC. Conclusion: Age of the women, residence, obstetric complication, the way to the health facility transportation cost, transportation comfortability, the number of work hours of health care providers were the significant predictors for the determination of utilization pattern of ANC services by the studied pregnant women.

Background: Good oral health is a vital component of general health. Maintaining good oral hygiene via personal and specialized care is the best prevention for dental health problems. This study aimed to compare the oral health status and oral hygiene among Egyptian and Malaysian medical students studying at Tanta University, Egypt. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among Egyptian and Malaysian students at Tanta faculty of medicine using WHO self-administered questionnaires to collect the data concerning their oral health status and oral hygiene habits. Results: The study included 426 undergraduate medical students (202 Malaysian and 224 Egyptian), two thirds (66.4%) of Egyptian students had pain or discomfort in their teeth or mouth during the past twelve months compared to only 39.1% of Malaysian. One-third (33.7%) of Malaysian students reported the good condition of their teeth and gums compared to 37.5% of Egyptian students. Among Malaysian students, 65.8% reported daily brushing of their teeth twice or more, whereas only 28.1% of Egyptian students did, with statistically significant differences. Conclusion: Defective oral hygienic practice was especially noted among Egyptian students necessitating the implementation of oral health promoting programs for children and adolescents.

Background Vaccine hesitancy poses serious challenges for achieving coverage for population immunity. It is necessary to achieve high COVID‐19 vaccination acceptance rates and medical students’ coverage as future health care providers. The study aimed to explore the level of COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy and determine the factors and barriers that may affect vaccination decision‐making. Methods A cross‐sectional study was carried out among medical students in Tanta and Kafrelsheikh Universities, Egypt. Data collection was done via an online questionnaire during January 2021 from 2133 students. Results The majority of the participant students (90.5%) perceived the importance of the COVID‐19 vaccine, 46% had vaccination hesitancy, and an equal percentage (6%) either definitely accepted or refused the vaccine. Most of the students had concerns regarding the vaccine's adverse effects (96.8%) and ineffectiveness (93.2%). The most confirmed barriers of COVID‐19 vaccination were deficient data regarding the vaccine's adverse effects (potential 74.17% and unknown 56.31%) and insufficient information regarding the vaccine itself (72.76%). Conclusion The government, health authority decision‐makers, medical experts, and universities in Egypt need to work together and make efforts to reduce hesitancy and raise awareness about vaccinations, consequently improving the acceptance of COVID‐19 vaccines.

Digital eye strain (DES) is a growing occupational and public health problem and one of the most frequent reasons for seeking medical care. The objectives of this study are to identify the prevalence and to study some associated personal, ergonomic, and environmental factors of DES among information technology (IT) professionals at Tanta University, Egypt. An interview questionnaire was used to collect data related to socio-demographic, job, ergonomic and environmental characteristics. Computer vision syndrome questionnaire (CVS-Q) was used for the assessment of DES. It was used to measure ocular and visual symptoms related to computer use. CVS-Q includes 16 symptoms that are scored using two rating scales, one for frequency and the other for intensity. A total of 108 IT professionals were included. Prevalence of DES was 82.41%. The most common symptoms were headache (81.5%), burning of the eye (75.9%), and blurred vision (70.4%). Significant predictors of DES were female gender (OR = 2.845), age ≥ 35 years (OR = 1.112), daily computer use more than 6 h (OR = 1.351), duration of work more than 10 years (OR = 1.793), wearing corrective glasses (OR = 5.009), distance from the monitor less than 20 in. (OR = 4.389), not using antiglare screen (OR = 0.214), no brightness adjustment of screen (OR = 0.015), not taking break time during computer work (OR = 0.007), exposure to air pollution (OR = 5.667), use of the air conditioner (OR = 23.021), and exposure to windy environments (OR = 3.588). Prevalence of DES was found to be high among IT professionals. Significant predictors of DES were female gender, older age, wearing eyeglasses, long duration of computer use, unadjusted ergonomic workstation, and dry environment. DES is a problem that can be prevented by increasing knowledge and awareness about DES by providing computer users with eye health education, periodic training on a proper ergonomic computer workstation, and adjustment of the suitable comfortable workplace environment.

Background & Aim of the work: β-Thalassemia (βT) is highly prevalent in some countries like Egypt. Accurate data about actual disease prevalence and heavily prevalent geographic locations are essential to help in early detection and in setting up effective preventive programs. We aim for screening of βT carriers among Egyptian high school students in the Delta region. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional multicenter study was carried on 4320 randomly selected students from four governorates of the Nile Delta region, Egypt. All patients were to be tested for their complete blood count. Those with microcytic hypochromic anemia not caused by iron deficiency were tested for βT carrier status using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: The total prevalence of βT carrier rate was 6.13%. The highest prevalence was detected in Al-Sharkia Governorate, reaching 7.89%, followed by 6.90% in Al-Gharbia Governorate. Al-Dakahilia and Al-Menoufia showed lower rates of 4.86% and 3.73%, respectively. Conclusions: Despite the premarital national screening program for βT in Egypt, the carrier rate is still high. More effort should be done for the proper implementation of national prevention programs.

Background Screening of β thalassemia among close relatives is more feasible in highly prevalent countries with limited resources. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of β thalassemia carriers and iron deficiency anemia among relatives of β thalassemia patients in Mid Delta, Egypt. Methods This is a cross-sectional multi-center study conducted on 2118 relatives of patients with β thalassemia from different Egyptian governorates in the Mid Delta region. They were subjected to history taking with precise determination of geographic location, general examination, and the following investigations: complete blood counts, serum ferritin for those who showed microcytic hypochromic anemia, and high-performance liquid chromatography for those who were not diagnosed as iron deficiency anemia. Results The total prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among close relatives of confirmed β thalassemia patients in the Nile Delta region was 17.19%. The highest prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (45.05%) was reported in Al-Gharbia Governorate, followed by Al-Menoufia Governorate (21.67%), and the lowest prevalence was that of Al-Sharkia Governorate (4.91%). The differences were highly statistically significant (p < 0.001). β thalassemia carrier prevalence rate in the studied relatives was 35.84%, with the highest prevalence detected in Al-Sharkia Governorate (51.32%), followed by Kafr-Alsheikh and Al-Dakahilia Governorates (41.78%, 37.13%) respectively, while Al-Menoufia Governorate had the lowest prevalence rate (25.00%). These differences were also highly statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion More than one-third of relatives of patients with β thalassemia are carriers of the disease, while 17.19% suffer from iron deficiency anemia. This study demonstrates the importance of tracing the high number of beta thalassemia carriers among relatives of patients with β thalassemia in Egypt.

Background: In the direct acting antiviral era, the role of ribavirin (RBV) in the treatment of hepatitis c virus (HCV) remains crucial, especially in patients with liver cirrhosis and treatment experienced patients. L-carnitine was reported to improve anemia in patients with HCV treated with interferon alone or with ribavirin.Aim of Study: To evaluate the effect of L-carnitine on improving ribavirin induced hemolytic anemia in patients with HCV treated with sofosbuvir/daclatasvir plus ribavirin (SOF/DCV/ RBV).Patients and Methods: Naive patients with HCV related liver cirrhosis and treatment experienced patients who received prior interferon therapy were randomized to receive either SOF/DCV/RBV plus L-carnitine (n=49) or SOF/DCV/RBV (n=49) for 12 weeks as a control group. Changes in hemoglobin concentration, reduction of ribavirin dose and its effect on sustained virological response (SVR) were evaluated.Results: After 4 and 12 weeks of treatment, the hemoglobin concentration was significantly higher in the L-carnitine group than in the control group (p

Digital eye strain (DES) is a growing occupational and public health problem and one of the most frequent reasons for seeking medical care. The objectives of this study are to identify the prevalence and to study some associated personal, ergonomic, and environmental factors of DES among information technology (IT) professionals at Tanta University, Egypt. An interview questionnaire was used to collect data related to socio-demographic, job, ergonomic and environmental characteristics. Computer vision syndrome questionnaire (CVS-Q) was used for the assessment of DES. It was used to measure ocular and visual symptoms related to computer use. CVS-Q includes 16 symptoms that are scored using two rating scales, one for frequency and the other for intensity. A total of 108 IT professionals were included. Prevalence of DES was 82.41%. The most common symptoms were headache (81.5%), burning of the eye (75.9%), and blurred vision (70.4%). Significant predictors of DES were female gender (OR = 2.845), age ≥ 35 years (OR = 1.112), daily computer use more than 6 h (OR = 1.351), duration of work more than 10 years (OR = 1.793), wearing corrective glasses (OR = 5.009), distance from the monitor less than 20 in. (OR = 4.389), not using antiglare screen (OR = 0.214), no brightness adjustment of screen (OR = 0.015), not taking break time during computer work (OR = 0.007), exposure to air pollution (OR = 5.667), use of the air conditioner (OR = 23.021), and exposure to windy environments (OR = 3.588). Prevalence of DES was found to be high among IT professionals. Significant predictors of DES were female gender, older age, wearing eyeglasses, long duration of computer use, unadjusted ergonomic workstation, and dry environment. DES is a problem that can be prevented by increasing knowledge and awareness about DES by providing computer users with eye health education, periodic training on a proper ergonomic computer workstation, and adjustment of the suitable comfortable workplace environment.

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) constitutes a global public health problem in Egypt, as it has the highest worldwide prevalence. This study aimed at determining the seroprevalence of HCV among the newcomer students of Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt. METHODS A cross-sectional serosurvey was conducted including 9049 students. Medical examination, ultrasonography, and laboratory investigations were done. Liver function tests and HCV antibody testing were carried out for all students who gave an informed consent; HCV-RNA polymerase chain reaction was performed for students with positive HCV antibody testing. RESULTS The mean age of screened students were 18.6 ± 0.39 years. In total, 4233 (46.8%) were males and 4816 (53.2%) were females. Using HCV antibody testing, only 25 students (0.0028%) had positive antibodies; among them, 24 students (0.0026%) had HCV RNA positive; the study showed none statistically significant higher percentage of HCV infection among males (13 out of 24, 54.2%) than females (11 out of 24, 48.5%), P > 0.05. The results of liver function tests were not significantly different between the HCV-positive and HCV-negative students. However, the liver transaminase enzymes were significantly higher ( P

Background: As hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) arising from chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in liver cirrhosis is a major problem in public health, early and rapid prediction of HC...

Introduction College life is a critical transition stage through which young adults set out to discover tobacco use. Objectives To identify students’ perception and practices towards Shisha smoking and factors influencing it. Methods The study included 953 randomly chosen students form faculties of medicine and engineering using a structured questionnaire for data collection. Results Ever Shisha smokers represented 26.1% of study participants, and 22.5% were current Shisha smokers. Current smokers among engineering students represented 43.6% compared to 3.8% of medical students. In faculty of engineering 51.3% of Shisha smokers reported smoking Shisha only compared to 42.1% among medical students. Smoking for two or more years was reported by 47.4% of medical students compared to 34.9% of engineering students. Traditional Café was the preferred place for shisha smoking for both medical and engineering students (68.4% & 63.6%, respectively). Peer pressures was cause for starting Shisha smoking (63.1%) followed by curiosity (29.4%), then entertainment (26.2%). Regarding reasons for continuing Shisha smoking, more than two thirds of participants reported "Anxiety or tension", followed by "Keeping pace with friends or relatives" (69.6% & 66.4%, respectively). Nearly two fifths (39.7%) of Shisha smokers tried to quit. Nearly two fifths (42.4%) couldn`t quit for more than one month, and 10.6% tried to quit for about one year but failed. Conclusion Shisha smoking prevalence was relatively not high. Anti-smoking interventions and campaigns should be implemented for university students to keep it low.

Dengue fever (DF) is one of the world’s most important vector-borne illnesses. In 2017, Egypt experienced a dengue outbreak. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of nursing students regarding DF and the effectiveness of an education intervention to improve students’ knowledge and attitude. An intervention study was conducted among 4th year nursing students of Tanta Faculty of Nursing using a self-administered predesigned validated questionnaire before and after introducing an educational session. The main DF information sources were formal teaching, social networks, television, and physicians. Less than half of the students (45.5%) had “good” knowledge grade after the intervention compared with only 7.2% in the pre-test. The students’ knowledge and attitude improved after the application of the intervention session. The positive impact of the educational intervention on knowledge and attitude regarding DF and its prevention among the target group revealed the importance of the inclusion of teaching materials about DF into the students’ curricula.

Background: Internet addiction and problematic internet use (PIU) constitutes a problem among university students worldwide. Little is known about the adverse effects and unhealthy behaviors among medical students using internet and facebook . The objective of this study was to determine prevalence, associated factors and effects of Internet and Facebook addiction on medical students of Tanta faculty of medicine. Methods: Cross sectional study was conducted in Tanta faculty of medicine, Tanta University, Egypt on 861 Egyptian and Malaysian students at 4 th and 5 th medical year from March to May, 2015 in the academic year 2014-2015. A self-administered questionnaire was used. It included questions on socio-demographic and academic data, patterns of internet use, patterns facebook use, and young internet addiction test (YIAT). Results: The majority of the students of both Egyptian and Malaysian students reported that they have home internet access (85.8% and 89.2%) mostly via mobile phones (92.4%). Facebook the most frequently used social media by Egyptian students (93%), while other social media such as twitter, whatsapp, skype were more frequently used by Malaysian ones (96.4%). Habitual use of facebook late night was reported by 26.9% of Egyptian students compared to only 15.5% of Malaysian ones with statistically significant difference. The most commonly reported adverse effects were: eye irritation, followed by headache, then back pain. Only minor percentage of the students (2.7%) had significant problems in life due to internet use, while the largest percent of them (64.1%) were average internet users. Significantly higher percent of Egyptian students had (PIU) than Malaysian ones (3.8%, 0.9% respectively). Significant negative correlation was found between IAT scores and academic grades of the students . Conclusions: Facebook and internet use affects the social life of medical students. Excessive facebook and internet use is associated with adverse health effects and unhealthy behaviours. Medical students are at increased risk for problematic internet use, and to a lesser extent internet addiction which negatively affects their academic grades.

Background Sexual harassment against nurses is a major workplace problem causing adverse psychological effects and may affect the occupational performance of the nurses. This study aimed to assess the magnitude of this problem, and its characteristics and consequences among the nursing staff in Tanta University Hospitals, Gharbeia Governorate, Egypt. Participants and methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on 430 nurses at Tanta University Hospitals using a semistructured, self-administered questionnaire to collect the data concerning the exposure and characteristics of harassment situations. A representative sample of the nurses was taken randomly from the emergency, medical and surgical departments. Results Overall, 70.2% of the studied nurses were ever exposed to sexual harassment at the workplace; 43.7% of the harassed nurses were working in both day and night shifts. Staring in a suggestive manner emerged as the most common form of harassment, followed by hearing sexual words and comments or jokes (70.9, 58.6 and 57.3%, respectively). The relatives of the patients were the most common perpetrators, followed by the hospital staff other than the doctors (61.9, 45.4%, respectively). During the harassment situation, astonishment and shock were the most frequent responses in 65.2% of the harassed nurses, while after its occurrence 38.4% ignored the situation. About 95% of the harassed nurses were left with psychological effects, mostly in the form of disappointment and depression (76.5 and 67.9%, respectively). Conclusion and recommendations The prevalence of sexual harassment among nurses at the workplace was high with relation to certain occupational factors, and it led to marked psychological effects on the victims. Hence, protective legislations and measures should be taken by the hospital management for prevention of this problem in the future.