University of Jordan

About: University of Jordan is a education organization based out in Amman, Jordan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 7796 authors who have published 13764 publications receiving 213526 citations.

Medical Students and COVID-19: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Precautionary Measures. A Descriptive Study From Jordan

Abstract: The recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is associated with increasing morbidity and mortality and has impacted the lives of the global populations. Human behavior and knowledge assessment during the crisis are critical in the overall efforts to contain the outbreak. To assess knowledge, attitude, perceptions, and precautionary measures toward COVID-19 among a sample of medical students in Jordan. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted between the 16th and 19th of March 2020. Participants were students enrolled in different levels of study at the six medical schools in Jordan. An online questionnaire which was posted on online platforms was used. The questionnaire consisted of four main sections: socio-demographics, sources of information, knowledge attitudes, and precautionary measures regarding COVID-19. Medical students used mostly social media (83.4%) and online search engines (84.8%) as their preferred source of information on COVID-19 and relied less on medical search engines (64.1%). Most students believed that hand shaking (93.7%), kissing (94.7%), exposure to contaminated surfaces (97.4%), and droplet inhalation (91.0%) are the primary mode of transmission but were indecisive regarding airborne transmission with only 41.8% in support. Participants also reported that elderly with chronic illnesses are the most susceptible group for the coronavirus infection (95.0%). As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic more than 80.0% of study participants adopted social isolation strategies, regular hand washing, and enhanced personal hygiene measures as their first line of defense against the virus. In conclusion, Jordanian medical students showed expected level of knowledge about the COVID-19 virus and implemented proper strategies to prevent its spread.

Self-efficacy, self-management, and glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract: Objective The objective was to evaluate the relationships between diabetes management self-efficacy and diabetes self-management behaviors and glycemic control. Methods A cross-sectional design was used. A convenience sample of 223 subjects with type 2 diabetes, ≥25 years old, who sought care at the National Diabetes Center in Amman, Jordan, was enrolled. A structured interview and medical records provided the data. The instruments included a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, a diabetes management self-efficacy scale, and a diabetes self-management behaviors scale. Glycosylated hemoglobin was used as an index for glycemic control. The analyses are presented as proportions, means (±S.D.), odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals obtained from logistic regressions. Results Diet self-efficacy and diet self-management behaviors predicted better glycemic control, whereas insulin use was a statistically significant predictor for poor glycemic control. In addition, subjects with higher self-efficacy reported better self-management behaviors in diet, exercise, blood sugar testing, and taking medication. The findings showed that more than half of the subjects did not have their diabetes under control and that only 42% had attended diabetes education programs. Conclusions The majority of subjects did not have their diabetes controlled; their self-efficacy was low, and they had suboptimal self-management behaviors. Therefore, strategies to enhance and promote self-efficacy and self-management behaviors for patients are essential components of diabetes education programs. Furthermore, behavioral counseling and skill-building interventions are critical for the patients to become confident and be able to manage their diabetes.